Main opposition Nepali Congress, Madhes-based parties and some other parties objected to the use of the Maoist party´s term, and the Madhes-based parties also criticized the government for not mentioning the Madhes Movement in the document.
Unsatisfied with the prime minister´s reply, the opposition parties tabled amendments to the ´wording´ but all of these were rejected by majority voice vote.[break]
Lawmakers from the ruling CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist), Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF), CPN-ML (Marxist), Nepal Sadbhabana Party (Anandidevi) and some other fringe parties voted for the government´s proposal to endorse the policy and programs, but the main opposition NC, four Madhes-based parties united under the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) umbrella and some other smaller parties stood against.
Asked about the term ´people´s war´, Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal was evasive, giving only a vague answer. Though the prime minister stated that the term could not be acceptable to the non-Maoist parties, he didn´t commit himself to withdrawing it. Clarifying that the term happened to be mentioned in the document in a specific context, he urged lawmakers to use commonly accepted terms like ´armed struggle´.
Unhappy with the prime minister´s reply, lawmakers from both the ruling as well as opposition sides asked him supplementary questions to make clear whether he meant he would drop the term or not. Gagan Thapa of the NC asked, "I couldn´t understand the prime minister´s answer. I want a clear answer whether or not he is ready to drop the term as demanded by us?" Similarly, Dev Gurung of UCPN (Maoist) also sought clarifications from Khanal. "I want to know whether or not the prime minister is going to use the term as it is, as we demand?"
The prime minister then replied, "We haven´t accepted the term ´people´s war´. Other parties can´t accept it. While some have described it as ´armed struggle´ some others have termed it ´armed war´. So, let´s use a common term acceptable to all and let´s not fight over words."
Still unhappy with the prime minister´s reply, main opposition party leader Ram Chandra Paudel said he wouldn´t withdraw the amendment proposal and demanded that it be tabled for voting.
Of the 16 lawmakers who registered their amendments, some later withdrew. Amik Sherchan of UCPN (Maoist), Jayram Yadav of MPRF and Sarita Giri and Pari Thapa withdrew their amendment proposals following the prime minister´s reply to the House.
Though some key leaders from the prime minister´s own party UML during deliberations in the House criticized the government for using the controversial term, lawmakers from the ruling parties voted in favor of the government proposal and there was no division among them.
The prime minister said the government had tried its best to incorporate the demands put forth by the main opposition NC, UDMF and other parties concerning its policy and programs.
Defending against the allegation by opposition parties that the policy and programs were vague and had set out no priorities, the prime minister urged lawmakers to understand the constraints and compulsions of a coalition government.
He said the policy and programs have set the priority on concluding constitution drafting and the peace process and promoting agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, energy and the health and education sectors.
Khanal also said that the policy and programs had taken into account the current economic problems and announced that measures would be taken to promote the private sector, create an investment friendly environment, and address inflation, artificial shortages of essential goods and the liquidity crunch seen in financial institutions.
Click here for government´s policy and programs
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