Speaking at a press conference organized at the party´s parliamentary office in Singha Durbar, MPRF Chairman Upendra Yadav argued that Paudel´s candidacy will remain in place in the next House session.[break]
“Neither Paudel has withdrawn his candidacy nor the parliament has scrapped his candidacy yet,” he said. “His (Paudel´s) candidacy will remain intact since the new process to elect prime minister has not begun yet.”
Yadav´s remarks come at a time when some opposition parties including UCPN (Maoist) have been arguing that Paudel´s candidacy would be automatically void after the prorogation of the House session.
Yadav, however, said that there is no alternative to moving ahead through consensus among political parties to end the ´ridiculous´ prime ministerial election. “We cannot move ahead by ignoring any of the parties,” he further said. “The more the number of times he is contesting the election the more his destination is receding.”
The MPRF also protested the participation of cantoned Maoist combatants in the party´s plenum. Chairman Yadav said that there would be no point in integrating the combatants who are taking part in the party´s function. “All combatants should be under the Special Committee. They should not participate in the party´s function,” he added.
MPRF Co-chairman Jaya Prakash Gupta said the participation of the Maoist combatants in the extended plenum goes against the code of conduct for the combatants also agreed by the Maoist party. “The code of conduct has clearly said that cantoned combatants will have no allegiance to the party,” he said. "We will raise the issue strongly in the upcoming Special Committee meeting," added Gupta, who is also a member of Special Committee.
Gupta argued that 1,200 combatants taking part in the plenum could have decided to join party politics instead of opting integration and rehabilitation.
The MPRF also termed the Maoists´ manhandling of the finance minister and other lawmakers and vandalism in parliament as ´undemocratic´. “The way Maoist lawmakers attacked and resorted to vandalism in a guerilla style is against parliamentary system and democratic norms,” said Chairman Yadav. “We condemn and denounce the acts.”
Yadav also asked the government to call House session at the earliest. “The government´s decision to prorogue the House is wrong,” he added.
Related story
Sasmit Pokharel files candidacy from Kathmandu-5
-1776353206.webp)
