KATHMANDU: Amid speculations of Parliament dissolution, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday told Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal that he was ready to face the no-confidence motion at the Parliament. He made it clear that he, however, would not put in papers with the no-confidence motion, which the Nepali Congress and CPN Maoist Centre brought, in place.

Prime Minister Oli, also the chairman of CPN-UML, had invited Deuba and Dahal to his official residence in Baluwatar for a meeting today. Dahal’s party had withdrawn support to the coalition government and grouped up with the Nepali Congress to challenge Oli and his leadership with a no-confidence motion.

The meeting lasted for for over an hour.

On the occasion, Deuba and Dahal asked the Prime Minister to resign and pave the way for formation of new government.

In response, Prime Minister Oli said he would not put in papers but face the House as the no-confidence motion was already registered, according to the Prime Minister’s press advisor Pramod Dahal.

The Prime Minister told the two leaders that the demand of resignation and the no-confidence motion do not get along as resignation was matter of understanding while no-confidence motion meant everything was ruined, Prime Minister Oli’s political advisor Bishnu Rimal informed.

Offering the two leaders two options — understanding (resignation) or constitutional step (no-confidence vote) — the Prime Minister said he wanted to follow understanding and agreement [between the parties] and did not want to be obstruction or play as the country was in crisis, according to Rimal.

Referring to the transitional provisions in the Constitution, which would not easily let the formation of new government happen, Prime Minister Oli further asked the two leaders, who forged an agreement to bring down the Oli-led coalition government, to look at the matter seriously, it has been learned.

While moving ahead constitutionally, Oli said, if some pitfalls were found in the Constitution then the government was ready to fill them up, and that should be done with understanding among the parties, according to Rimal.

“We told the Prime Minister he had to take up initiative on his own to find a way out in this new situation,” Maoist Chairman Dahal said, emerging from the meeting.

“We said that after a major ally withdrew its support, the government is virtually in minority and, thus, the Prime Minister should resign,” Dahal, who aspires to become the new prime minister, told the media, “But the Prime Minister said there are differing explanations of Constitution, and since the no-confidence motion was filed at the Parliament, he would face it and not resign.”

Dahal further said that parties had two to three more days to discuss the matter.

The motion is scheduled to be presented at the Parliament on Thursday.

It has been learned that the Prime Minister expressed his dissatisfaction over Speaker Onsari Gharti’s role in putting off the House meeting and withholding regular House business after the Maoist party and the Nepali Congress jointly filed the no-confidence motion.

Earlier speaking at a function organised by the Nepal Engineers’ Association in Kathmandu, Prime Minister Oli had made it clear that he would not dissolve the Parliament but would not easily give in either. “What I have said is I would move ahead according to the Constitution, ” he said.

A while ago a friend asked me if I was going to dissolve the Parliament, Oli shared in his jocular style, I said where to play if the ground was destructed. “I’m not in favour of destroying the playground.”

It is being said the government has been reduced to minority, he said, but there is a system to examine whether the government really is in minority.

Dubbing the no-confidence motion against him as a conspiracy against the country, he added, “If this step [no-confidence motion] was made for the country, I would salute and step down. This is conspiracy against the country so I would not step down.”

“I asked friends [Nepali Congress and Maoist leaders] whether you have sought resignation or have filed no-confidence motion. I said – After you brought no-confidence motion at the Parliament, what’s the essence of seeking my resignation? Let it get decided.”

Responding to the Maoist allegation that he reneged on his promise and did not step down in order to hand over the premiership to the Maoist party, Oli claimed that there was not such an agreement.