If the top there parties failed to end the deadlock, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has said it would organize rallies in all 75 districts to pile pressure on them for peace and constitution. [break]
It also warned of strong steps like ´no donation´ and ´no tax payment´ if they turned deaf ears to people´s call for peace.
“We have had enough. They (political parties) must give up petty party interests and work to fulfill people´s aspirations for which they were elected,” said FNCCI President Kush Kumar Joshi.
He said the FNCCI has given the political parties time till Saturday night to forge national consensus. “If they paid no heed to our ultimatum, we will mobilize people and hold pressure rallies in all districts,” Joshi told the press.
To further pressurize the parties to bow down to people´s aspirations, Joshi said the FNCCI has even passed a resolution to stop paying donations to the political parties and tax to the government.
“We have got the mandate to exercise these extreme forms of pressure tactics from our district and bilateral chambers, commodity associations and associate members Thursday. We will enforce them if the parties don´t forge consensus even after the pressure rallies,” said Joshi.
FNCCI on the day had held an emergency meeting of all its members across the country in the capital. The businessmen had made deliberations for six hours on the current political deadlock and the role FNCCI should play to bring the political parties back on track.
During the discussions, entrepreneurs had asserted that the country would plunge into severe political crisis if the parties did not come into understanding by May 24, the date by when the Maoist have demanded the government to step down and pave way for the formation of a national unity government.
Business leaders said that national unity government is the call of the hour, but fell short of directly asking the government to step down. They urged the parties reach understanding with serious commitment to peace process, instead of threatening each other.
“We are neither affiliated with political parties nor we intend to join politics, but being a key player of the same society, we would like to clearly say that we will not tolerate political parties making mess of people´s lives and aspirations,” Joshi said.
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