KATHMANDU, JULY 8
The Socialist Front created by the four parties - CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN (Unified Socialist), and Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal, and Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal held its first meeting today and decided to hold programmes in all seven provinces within a few weeks to propagate the front's policies.
CPN (US) leader Rajendra Pandey told mediapersons after the meeting that a four-member taskforce of the front comprising Rajendra Shrestha from the JSP-N, Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma from the CPN, Pramesh Hamal from CPN (US) and Dev Prasad Gurung from CPN-MC would prepare the blueprint of socialist policies with Nepali characteristics. The taskforce will also prepare a code of conduct which will guide the conduct of the constituent parties.
The constituent parties' top leaders will take turns to lead the front and this leadership will change every six months, according to Pandey.
Asked if the front leaders discussed the CPN-UML's demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Pandey said the ruling alliance had already made it clear that the PM should not resign from his post.
"If the UML wants any clarification from the PM over anything, it can do so during the House meetings," Pandey said and added that the UML erred by seeking the PM's resignation.
"UML has lost its case in parliamentary politics," Pandey added. The UML has been obstructing proceedings in both Houses of the Parliament - the House of Representatives and the National Assembly - over PM Dahal's alleged remarks that Indian national Pritam Singh had gone to New Delhi to make him the PM at least once.
The PM has said that he was merely referring to what Pritam Singh had told him about his desire to see him becoming the PM, but his remarks were blown out of proportion by the UML.
The Socialist Front's four-member taskforce will have a difficult task preparing the blueprint of socialism with Nepali characteristics.
Nepal's constitution stipulates that Nepal is a socialism-oriented country but there are divergent views on socialism with some parties advocating the current model of government and other parties, particularly the left parties, advocating more pro-poor programmes.
Earlier JSP-N leader Rajendra Shrestha had told THT that the front would be committed to federal democratic, inclusive and secular republican system.
Formation of the Socialist Front is taken as an attempt by the constituent parties to increase their bargaining power in the House of Representatives.
CPN-UML leaders have said that they could support the Nepali Congress to form the new government. NC leaders have, however, refused to break the current coalition to form the next coalition with the UML.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 9, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
