KATHMANDU, APRIL 24
The Nepali Congress had decided to form the next government under its leadership, but did not intensify effort thanks to divided opinion in the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal about whether to remain neutral, support Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's government or aid the NC and CPN- MC to form the next government.
CPN-MC had said it would withdraw support to the government soon, but this too did not happen. Hence, the process of forming the next government has not started.
Nepali Congress Vice-president Bimalendra Nidhi said his party was not taking the lead in forming the next government because there was no possibility of the NC mustering support of majority members in the 275-member House of Representatives.
He said JSP-N leaders Rajendra Mahato and Mahantha Thakur had not changed their stance that the JSP-N should try to get its demands fulfilled rather than try to topple the government.
Nidhi said NC would move a no-trust motion only when the CPN-MC and the JSP-N supported it. "As per the constitutional provision, if a no-trust motion fails, another such motion won't be possible for a year. This means parties must ensure their efforts succeed," he added.
JSP-N is divided with Rajendra Mahato and Mahantha Thakur saying if Oli's government addresses the party's demands, the party should not seek to form the next government, while Upendra Yadav and Baburam Bhattarai say the party should try to help form the next government.
JSP-N Leader Rajendra Mahato said PM Oli had assured he would address the party's demands.
The government has decided to withdraw nine types of 'false' cases against 208 JSP-N leaders and cadres. It is yet to take a call on withdrawing 15 other types of cases. Mahato said if Oli addressed the party's demands, it would build a positive environment for acceptability of the government. Mahato said the JSP-N executive committee would take a call on whether the party should support Oli's government or help another party form the next government.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 25, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
