The CA members at a meeting of the CPN-UML parliamentary party on Friday had objected to the UML-led cabinet´s decision of nullifying the erstwhile Maoist-led government´s decision to sack army chief Rookmangud Katawal, according to a CA member present at the meeting. Several lawmakers termed the president´s move to reinstate the army chief ´sacked´ by the prime minister an unconstitutional step.
"Many of the lawmakers speaking at the meeting suggested that the party leadership should not take any decision that does not help build national consensus," CA member Ravindra Adhikari told myrepublica.com.
The UML had withdrawn support to the Maoist-led government differing with the latter´s decision to sack the army chief.
Responding to the lawmakers´ concerns, party chairman Jhala Nath Khanal urged them not to take any new stance over the matter since it was sub-judice and also because the party had already taken a decision over it in the past. "The central committee has concluded that both the president´s and prime minister´s steps were political and that will remain our official stance," a lawmaker quoted Khanal.
But a CA member present in the parliamentary party meeting claimed that majority of UML parliamentarians had described the president´s decision as unconstitutional. When asked if the new stance clearly contradicted the party central committee decision, the member said, "Yes this is just the opposite." The member also claimed that a majority of UML lawmakers criticized the government decision.
Another member said, "Several lawmakers termed the then Prime Minister Dahal´s decision as a wrong step and the president´s move too was incorrect."
However, party secretary and UML deputy parliamentary party leader Bishnu Poudel claimed no such discussion took place at the meeting. He said it was not the agenda of the meeting either.
According to another lawmaker, several CA members criticized the UML leadership for picking ministers without consulting the parliamentary party. Some of them had suggested setting certain criteria for nominating ministers from the party.
The party took decisions on nominating UML ministers from the party´s standing committee meeting.
New panel for constitution-making
The parliamentary party formed a 20-member body headed by Bharat Mohan Adhikari to help the party´s lawmakers with the constitution-making process. Ram Chandra Jha, Chhavi Lal Bishwakarma, Lal Babu Pandit and Binda Pandey, among others, are in the committee, according to Poudel.
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