Will this break political stalemate? All eyes on JSP-N
KATHMANDU, APRIL 3
Nepali Congress' decision to take the initiative to form the next government has enthused CPN-Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, but not Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal, which holds the key for forming the next government.
The Central Working Committee of the NC had yesterday decided to take initiative to form a new government under its leadership.
Dahal said at a programme in Kaplivastu today that the country's politics had taken a new turn after the NC decided to seek PM Oli's resignation and take initiative to form the next government under its leadership. "I am going to intensify talks with political parties and am hopeful that a new government will be formed and there will be a new course of events," he said.
JSP-N leader and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai welcomed the NC's decision to take the initiative for forming a new government.
Bhattarai wrote on social networking site: "Finally, the NC's decision to play the role of an opposition party is commendable.
Other opposition parties should also not forget their roles.
Every political party may have different agenda, but the country, people and democracy are above all. Today, the first priority is to show Oli the door."
Another JSP-N leader Rajendra Mahato, however, said their only concern was to get their demands addressed. "We are not concerned about forming the next government or unseating the KP Oli government," Mahato said and added that the party would take a call only when the issue of its role in forming the next government arose in the Parliament.
JSP-N leader Brikhesh Chandra Lal said unless the CPN-MC withdrew support to the government, the process of forming a new government would not start. He said the JSP-N would extend support to only the party that would address its demands.
The party wants the constitution to be amended to address issues related to citizenship, language, and provincial boundaries.
It also wants the Lal Commission report to be made public and false cases filed against its cadres and leaders withdrawn. The JSP-N has also demanded that its lawmaker Resham Chaudhary, convicted in the Tikapur carnage, be released from jail.
Lal said the CPN-MC had come up with the ridiculous argument that it would withdraw support to the government only after the JSP-N and the NC signed an agreement for forming the next coalition government.
"There is no moral ground for the CPN-MC to continue supporting the Oli government,"
Lal said. He said the CPN-MC should not be scared of midterm polls.
"Why should any party be worried about polls?. This is not a legitimate government and if fresh polls are held to form a new government, nobody should oppose this," he added.
Lal said both the NC and the CPN-MC had spoken positively about addressing the party's demands, but they had not made any public pledge in a credible manner.
Asked why his party leaders were divided about which party they should support, Lal said leaders might have individual views about current events, but the party would take a collective decision when the issues came up for debate in the party.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 4, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
