At a meeting held at the prime minister´s official residence at Baluwatar Saturday afternoon, the ruling parties argued that the current democratic alliance should be maintained to ensure a democratic constitution and successful conclusion of the peace process.
According to Chairman of CPN (Samyukta) Chandra Dev Joshi, they told the prime minister that summoning a House session without reaching agreement on the government´s leadership and its modality would create further uncertainty in the country. [break]
He said the parties also suggested reaching an agreement with the Maoists on the management of the cantoned Maoist combatants.
Leaders present at the meeting had asked the UML leadership whether an NC-UML alliance was possible for the formation of a new government.
Most leaders of the ruling parties had asked the UML to be clear whose candidate the party would support in a new prime ministerial voting process. “Under the Supreme Court´s decision a party must cast its vote in parliament. We asked whose candidate the UML will vote for in a new process of voting,” said Joshi.
UML General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel, who was present at the meeting, had tried to allay the concern of other ruling parties, saying that the UML is not in favor of a Maoist-led government until the latter detaches itself from its arms and combatants. Pokharel assured that the UML will neither support a Maoist-led government nor will it form a government under its own leadership with the support of the Maoists alone.
Though the top leaders of almost all the ruling parties were present at the meeting, UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal remained conspicuously absent. Prime Minister Nepal and Chairman Khanal are reportedly not in accord of late over the issue of whether to support the NC or the Maoists in the formation of a new government.
During the meeting, UML leader KP Sharma Oli argued that summoning a House session without an agreement on contentious issues would invite a split in the party as there could be foul play by the Maoists to secure a majority vote in parliament. “The Maoists will also field their candidate for the prime minister once Ram Chandra Paudel is voted down in parliament,” a leader quoted Oli as saying. “The Maoists may attempt to split the parties in a bid to garner a majority vote.”
Chairman of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Democratic (MPRF-D) Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar seconded Oli´s stance and suggested to the prime minister that it would not be wise to summon the House without reaching agreement on the contentious issues.
However, UML leader Pokharel had maintained that the House session should be summoned without delay as per the two-point agreement reached among the three parties Thursday. Prime Minister Nepal had also expressed his intention to write to President Dr Ram Baran Yadav to summon a regular House session within a week.
PM firm not to extend UNMIN term
Prime Minister Nepal reiterated that the government was not going to write for a term extension for UNMIN, arguing that the government already sought a ´last´ extension in a previous letter to the UN Security Council.
Referring to remarks by senior NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba that UNMIN´s term could be extended yet again, the prime minister also sought the official position of the NC over this. “I won´t step back from the government decision even if the NC does not support me,” Chairman of Family Party Ek Nath Dhakal quoted the prime minister as saying.
On the occasion, NC President Sushil Koirala said the NC was firm in its decision. He had asked Prime Minister Nepal to work toward ensuring necessary human resources for the newly-formed secretariat that will take up the role being played so far by UNMIN.
Some NC leaders had said that they were not opposed to the presence of UNMIN if the current mandate that places the Nepal Army under its supervision is revised.
Paudel sole NC PM candidate
During the meeting, NC President Koirala had clarified that Ram Chandra Paudel was the sole prime ministerial candidate from the party.
Referring to media reports that the Maoists were proposing Sher Bahadur Deuba as the prime ministerial candidate from the NC party, Koirala said the NC statute has clearly said that the party´s parliamentary leader will be the prime ministerial candidate. “So there is no question of any other leader becoming the new prime minister,” one party leader present at the meeting said.
Expressing readiness to go for rotational prime ministers, Koirala also asked the UML to vote in favor of Paudel until the Maoists help conclude the peace process including management of the cantoned combatants. “We have no objection to whoever becomes prime minister once the peace process is concluded,” the leader quoted Koirala as saying further.
Koirala, however, said the NC should be given a chance to lead the government first if they are to adopt a rotational system until the deadline for promulgating the new constitution ends.
PM mulling formal program to bring combatants under Secretariat
During the meeting, the prime minister had expressed his intention to organize a formal ceremony on Monday to announce the bringing of all cantoned combatants under the government. He had said that he would talk to Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal about the ceremony.
However, ruling party leaders had asked the prime minister not to be in a hurry about this. They had asked the prime minister to first provide necessary human and other resources to the newly-fomed secretariat to help it function smoothly.
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