KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 1
The CPN-UML unveiled its 96-page election manifesto justifying the dissolution of the House of Representatives.
The party said that the KP Sharma Oli government dissolved the HoR as opportunist forces in the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP), who took the anarchic action of removing party chair (Oli) from his post ignoring the mandate of the party's general convention which had elected him, had been creating hurdles in government functioning.
The UML said seeking fresh mandate was the right action but rival forces in the party did not let that happen as they moved the Supreme Court and formed a new government on the basis an SC directive, creating an unfortunate precedent of forming the government through a court order.
The party has painted a rosy picture of its previous governments since 1994 claiming that it achieved major progress in almost all sectors.
The party said that its government led by Oli after 2017 general elections achieved 81 major goals in its 41-month rule.
The UML has given itself a target of achieving 20 more goals in the next five years if it wins the upcoming elections.
The party has committed to ending citizenship problems within six months.
The UML launched its manifesto from a five-star hotel, with former banker Anil Shah posing questions to UML Chair Oli related to the party's election manifesto.
Oli defended his move to dissolve the HoR twice, saying that his detractors in the party didn't let him rule the country for five years and that was the main reason he sought to dissolve the HoR to get a fresh mandate.
He blamed Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal for failure of its government despite getting nearly two-thirds majority in the HoR. He lambasted the CPN-Maoist Centre for advocating changes in the form of government, saying the need of the hour was to make policy changes and get the lethargic bureaucracy to spring into action so that projects could be completed in time. "Those advocating directly-elected presidential system are trying to hide their shortcomings.
Who stopped the current coalition from delivering services in the past 16 months?" he wondered.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 2, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
