'Joining hands with NCP to form govt in Province 2 would be counterproductive for RJPN'

Published On: January 7, 2020 09:39 AM NPT By: Prashant Lamichhane

KATHMANDU, Jan 7: Chairman of Samajbadi Party (SP), Upendra Yadav, on Monday warned that it would be counterproductive for Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) if it chose to forge an alliance with the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) to form a new government in Province 2.

Yadav's reaction follows two major political developments — the exit of the Yadav-led SP from the Oli-led government and RJPN's electoral alliance with the NCP for the upcoming National Assembly elections. In the light of these two developments, it is widely speculated that RJPN and NCP will form their new coalition government in Province 2, keeping the SP at bay.

The SP and RJPN have been running their coalition government in Province 2 after the 2017 Provincial Assembly election.

Chairman Yadav argued that people mandated SP and RJPN to take the helm of the government in Province 2. “We were assigned with the responsibility to run the government, develop the province and maintain law and order as per the election results. If they [RJPN] attempt to do otherwise, they will have to pay the price for it. It will be a suicidal step for them,” warned Yadav.

Yadav also accused the RJPN of undermining the issue of constitution amendment. “Now they [RJPN] are hypnotized by NCP. Hopefully, they will be awake after the NA election,” he said.

Chairman Yadav stated that his party will remain a constructive opposition in the days to follow. “We had decided to join the NCP-led government to fulfill our objective of constitution amendment. However, NCP leadership ignored it. With this, we'll raise our issues through parliament and streets,” reiterated Yadav.

Yadav said that his party will continue exerting pressure on the ruling parties to amend the constitution, eliminate corruption, and ensure the people's fundamental rights. “They [NCP leadership] had a false impression that we would stick to the government under any circumstances. When we realized that our issues would not be addressed, we had no option but to quit the government and withdraw our support to the government,” he clarified.

On the issue of unification, Chairman Yadav said that his party's unification with the RJPN failed to make any headway as the RJPN leadership has failed to take this issue seriously.