Oli pressures PM Dahal to bring RSP back in govt

Published On: February 13, 2023 10:15 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Feb 13: KP Sharma Oli, the chairman of the CPN-UML, has continuously put pressure on the chairman of the Maoist Center, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also the Prime Minister, to bring the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) back in the government.

From the very beginning, Oli has been pressing Dahal, who became the prime minister with the support of parties including the UML. However, after the RSP left the government, Oli has been putting more pressure on Dahal. He has been continuously pressuring Dahal to bring the RSP back to the government after Rabi Lamichhane lost all his posts after the decision of the Supreme Court on his citizenship dispute,

Chairman Oli has the support of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and RSP who are participating in the high-level mechanism under his leadership. On Sunday, in the meeting of the high-level political committee held at the Prime Minister's residence, Baluwatar, Oli urged the RSP to participate in the government again.

According to the previous agreement, the RSP has taken the position that its party should get the Deputy Prime Minister along with the home ministry portfolio. Although Oli has been pressing for the implementation of the agreement reached during the formation of the government, Prime Minister Dahal is not in favor of giving the Ministry of Home Affairs to the RSP.

Also, Prime Minister Dahal has been saying that there is a need for national consensus over the presidency. However, other leaders including Oli are in favor of UML getting the post of president according to the previous agreement.

Similarly, Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of RSP, expressed interest in the meeting on Sunday. He asked Prime Minister Dahal and UML Chairman Oli for an answer saying that there was a difference of opinion between the coalition parties. Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party, which supported Dahal when he was appointed as Prime Minister, have not participated in the meeting of the high-level political mechanism. This issue was also discussed in the meeting.