In a memorandum submitted to the president Tuesday evening, the non-Maoist alliance made the request, arguing that a Constituent Assembly (CA) election was not possible without a national consensus government in place. [break]The parties have also demanded that caretaker Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai vacate the post to pave the way for a national consensus government.
“The CA election is not possible without bringing necessary amendments in the Interim Constitution and other election-related laws. These things can be done only by a government formed on the basis of national consensus,” said CPN-ML Chairman CP Mainali, one of the 16 signatories to the memorandum.
Mainali argued that formation of a national consensus government is the immediate need to bail the country out of the current constitutional crisis. “We have, therefore, urged the president to take necessary steps to form a national consensus government within his constitutional and legal jurisdiction,” he further said.
According to NC leader Ramesh Lekhak, they apprised the president that the new constitution was not possible because of the ruling UCPN (Maoist) and United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF). “They chose to dissolve the CA in their bid to end the existence of a people´s representative body even as we offered many alternatives for saving the legislature-parliament,” he said.
Lekhak said they have demanded that the prime minister step down immediately as he has lost all constitutional, legal and political ground for staying put as prime minister, following the dissolution of the CA on Sunday. “The president has already declared him as a caretaker prime minister. But we have maintained that the prime minister must first vacate the post in view of the current constitutional crisis,” he further said.
The memorandum was submitted after a joint meeting of the parties held at the call of the NC at its headquarters at Sanepa.
Representatives of CPN-UML, CPN-ML, CPN-Socialist, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Rastriya Janashakti Party, Chure Bhawar Ekta Samaj, Nepal Family Party, Nawa Nepal Nirman Party, Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Aanandi Devi), People´s Front Nepal, Sanghiya Loktantrik Party (Tharuhat), Socialist Democratic People´s Party, CPN-Janasamajbadi and independent lawmaker Sadrul Haq Miya were present at the meeting. The NC and UML leaders held a separate meeting with Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav later in the evening.
While concluding that the prime minister´s decision to announce a fresh CA election date after dissolving the CA was ´unconstitutional´ and ´flawed´, the meeting had demanded that the prime minister immediately step down to pave the way for the formation of a national consensus government.
Talking to media persons, NC Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel said the meeting decided to ask the prime minister to step down and pave the way for a national consensus government. The meeting also decided to launch joint protest programs, if deemed necessary, to oust the prime minister.
Earlier in the day, an NC Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting and an UML Standing Committee meeting had decided to ask the prime minister to step down immediately, arguing that he had lost both constitutional and political grounds for staying in power. They also decided to ask all like-minded parties to take part in a nationwide movement and protest programs to thwart the conspiracy to foil all the achievements of the people´s movement of April, 2006.
Meanwhile, a separate meeting of 16 various parties held at the call of the Maoist party at its headquarters at Parisdanda concluded that the announcement of the CA election was a necessity in view of the expiry of the CA term.
The meeting also welcomed the government´s decision to announce a fresh CA election date, saying the decision was constitutional, democratic and based on the verdict of the Supreme Court.
The meeting was attended by Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (Democratic), Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party-Nepal, Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (Republican), Sadbhawana Party, Sanghiya Sadbhawana Party, Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch (Tharuhat), CPN-ML (Socialist), Nepal Family Party, Nepaa Rastriya Party, Chure Bhawar Ekta Party, Janata Dal United, Rastriya Janamukti Party, CPN-Unified and Socialist People´s Party, according to a joint statement. Some of the parties including Chure Bhawar Ekta attended the meeting called by the NC as well as that called by the Maoists.
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