KATHMANDU: The Constituent Assembly meeting held in its capacity as parliament was adjourned until Sunday after the main opposition Nepali Congress on Thursday boycotted proceedings, accusing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of ignoring all past agreements and leading the country toward authoritarianism.
Immediately after Nepali Congress lawmakers walked out of the meeting hall, Speaker Subas Nembang announced adjournment of the meeting and removed all the agenda for the day.
Before leaving the hall, NC Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire presented a long list of how the Prime Minister and his party, CPN (Maoist), are trampling upon the peace agreements and pushing the country toward one-party dictatorship.
“There have been biased and arbitrary transfers in the bureaucracy and police, perhaps on the largest scale since 1961 [when King Mahendra imposed panchayat rule]” said Ghimire. He also accused the Maoist-led government of brushing aside all the promises made by the PM about good governance, the rule of law and a clamp down on corruption.
Ghimire alleged that the government has withdrawn cases against some notorious criminals who are facing charges of murder and crime against humanity. “All the charges are related to incidents that took place after the Comprehensive Peace Accord was inked,” said Ghimire. Ghimire also said the defense minister has met with the person blamed for killing businessman Ram Hari Shrestha.
He also questioned the legitimacy of the Special Committee for Integration of Maoist combatants. “The Interim Constitution clearly states that the committee will be formed with the consensus of all the main political parties,” he said. “But we have not even been informed yet.”
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