KATHMANDU, Dec 21: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that he was forced to take the decision to dissolve parliament after conspiracies were made against his government and it was not allowed to function properly.
In a special address to the nation, Prime Minister Oli said that he was forced to dissolve parliament and announce midterm elections after he learnt about a plan to file a vote of no-confidence against him.
"I was forced to go for taking a fresh mandate through elections as attempts were made against my government, not to allow it to function properly," the prime minister said while defending his decision to dissolve parliament and announce dates for midterm elections.
Oli said that the intraparty rift in the ruling Nepal Communist Party severely affected the government's functioning.
What next: Midterm elections or a full-term Oli govt?
The prime minister also insisted that his government had done well in terms of safeguarding the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The prime minister also accused some of his own party leaders of being responsible for forcing him to take this step.
“The elected government under my leadership which was doing pretty well was pushed to a corner and picketed against and was not allowed to work at all through various means. Therefore, I decided to dissolve parliament," he said in his 15-minute long virtual address.
Actually, nobody had thought that the country would go for a fresh public mandate one and half years before elections were due, the prime minister said.
"This move could be seen as an abrupt step for now, but some of my party leaders should be held responsible for creating this situation who did not cooperate with my government," Oli said.
Prime Minister Oli said that his government made tireless efforts to strengthen the country's nationalism by enhancing ties with neighboring countries China and India. He mentioned his government's move to issue a new political map incorporating Kalapani, Limpiya Dhura and Lipu Lekh which have long been occupied by India. The prime minister also said that the government signed the historic Trade and Transit Treaty with China.
"By going against the people's mandate and their will, national politics was unnecessarily dragged into an endless game that hampered the functioning of parliament and government," he said.
"Since the prime minister who was commanding a majority government was not allowed to function properly, I did not prefer to indulge into dirty politics behind closed doors and reach consensus with them for their vested interests," Oli added.
