Khanal rules out revision on UML stance

KATHMANDU, Sept 5: A day after CPN-UML heavyweight KP Sharma Oli indicated that the ruling party might change its stance in the prime ministerial election in parliament, party chairman Jhalanath Khanal reiterated that UML wouldn´t budge from its decision to stay neutral.



“Our party will firmly stand in favor of consensus government until peace and constitution is ensured,” Khanal told reporters outside the parliament building just after the voting for new prime minister in the House on Sunday. [break]



He said there is no point in forming majority government saying such a government wouldn´t be able to deliver peace and constitution. “We don´t want to waste the remaining nine months by forming another majority government and UML doesn´t want to invite another May 28 fiasco,” he added.



Earlier on Saturday, Oli had said that it was high time the party rethink in its previous decision. “The UML´s politburo meeting scheduled for September 9 would rethink whether the party should still stay neutral,” Oli had told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport upon his arrival from New Delhi on Saturday.



Contrary to the party chairman´s opinion, Oli had said a majority government can conclude the peace process and write the new constitution in the remaining timeframe.



While Oli is for keeping intact the non-Maoist democratic alliance led by Nepali Congress (NC) and UML, Khanal is for forming a government with UCPN (Maoist) on board.



UML parliamentarians have been casting their votes for neutral position ever since the first round as the party decided to stick to formation of consensus government commanding at least two-third majority in parliament.



Khanal is not ready to budge from the stance as he had to withdraw his own candidacy during the first round voting after the party´s central committee decided that UML lawmakers would vote for him only if he could prove in writing that at least 401 lawmakers are ready to vote for him.



Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who had proposed Khanal´s candidacy in parliament, withdrew the proposal at the last minute on the ground that the party chairman couldn´t garner support of 401 lawmakers´ in writing ahead of the voting.



Khanal has been claiming that he pulled out from the race even after 391 lawmakers supported him while Oli and Nepal rubbish his claim.

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