Nepali Congress urges PM Prachanda to quit and 'pave way' for new government

KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' to pave the way for the formation of a new government, a day after the Himalayan nation's largest political party struck a power-sharing deal with the CPN-UML to replace the incumbent government led by the former guerilla leader.

The Nepali Congress Central Work Performance Committee (CWC) met at party president Sher Bahadur Deuba's residence at Budhanilkantha to discuss the current political situation and the party's future strategy.

The meeting of the party's key committee came a day after the Nepali Congress President Deuba and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) chairman K P Sharma Oli finalised an agreement on Monday to form a new government to replace the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Prachanda.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, party Spokesperson Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat said, “The prime minister should pave the way after the largest parties -- Nepali Congress and UML -- said they would form a new government together. This is also included in the decision."

"Other parties, too, are supporting the new Nepali Congress-UML alliance. So, the Nepali Congress CWC has requested the prime minister to pave the way,” MyRepublica news portal quoted him as saying.

Mahat said a new government will be formed through the constitutional process if the prime minister does not pave the way for the formation of a new government.

However, embattled Prime Minister Prachanda has refused to resign from the post and said he would rather face a vote of confidence in Parliament.

According to the constitutional provision, the prime minister losing a majority support in the House will be required to prove a majority within 30 days. The prime minister must seek a vote of confidence once a ruling alliance withdraws support.

This will be the fifth time Prachanda, 69, will seek a vote of confidence within a term of one and a half years.

The former guerilla leader has won three votes of confidence in Parliament.

Before the CWC meet, former foreign minister Narayan Prakash Saud said, “The meeting will review the latest political situation in the country and discuss the future course of action.”

The meeting will also discuss the agenda and modality of formation of the new coalition government, said Saud, who is also a Nepali Congress central member.

The deal finalised between the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML includes sharing the remaining three-year term of Parliament between the two parties, the ministerial division, provincial leadership roles and a rotation for the prime ministerial position.

Under the agreement, the CPN-UML chief Oli will lead the government in the first phase of the remaining term of Parliament. For the remaining term, Deuba will be the prime minister.

The CPN-UML has already urged Prime Minister Prachanda to step down from the position so that a new government can be formed as per the constitutional provision.

It also asked all the political parties to join the “national government” under the leadership of Oli to bolster political stability in the country.

But delaying its earlier decision, the party has decided to not recall ministers from the Prachanda-led Cabinet immediately.

“We don’t want more animosity [against the CPN-Maoist Centre] and so we did not recall our ministers today,” Pradeep Gyawali, deputy general secretary of the UML.

“But if the prime minister does not pave the way for new government formation by tomorrow [Wednesday] evening, we will recall our ministers and take other necessary steps,” The Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted him as saying.

“If the prime minister ignores UML’s request [to quit], our party will withdraw its support to the government,” Gyawali said.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, the fifth force in the House of Representatives (HoR), has extended support to the new alliance, indicating that it would join the new government.

Nepal has had 13 governments in the last 16 years, indicating the fragile nature of the Himalayan nation's political system.