Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal asked both CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba about their agreement to form national consensus government.
Oli and Deuba signed an agreement to that regard pledging to reform electoral system and system of governance among other things late Monday night.
PM Dahal asked Oli about the agreement during their meeting Tuesday morning. Dahal briefed the meeting of CPN (Maoist Center) office-bearers that was held after his meeting with Oli that the latter claimed that he and Deuba had not exactly reached agreement.
Oli told Dahal that there he and Deuba talked about national consensus among Oli, Deuba and Dahal. Dahal, however, warned that Oli’s words cannot be trusted. “He stayed together with me for four hours and left after settling all the issues. He completed agreement with Deuba by midnight. We have ben greatly betrayed,” a Maoist leader quoted Dahal as telling the meeting.
Dahal also phoned Deuba to ask about the matter Tuesday morning. “I don’t know how to lie. We have talked about forming government with coalition of UML and NC. There are no subjects to discuss with you now,” the leader quoted Dahal as adding.
Dahal convened the meeting of Maoist office-bearers after the deal between UML and NC.
The meeting has decided that PM Dahal will not resign immediately and will take floor test, according to Maoist Secretary Devendra Paudel.
The Constitution requires the PM to take floor test within 30 days if any party in the ruling coalition splits or withdraws support from the government.
UML and NC will take turns to lead the government for the remaining term of the House of Representatives with Oli becoming the prime minister (PM) first as per the agreement. Deuba will then lead the government.
The two biggest parties in the House have agreed to form the government as per Article 76(2) of the Constitution.
The agreement means that the ruling coalition will change yet again in just four months.
The coalition between Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (Maoist Center) had broken giving way to a new ruling coalition of the Maoists UML on March 3.
The previous ruling coalition was formed around a year before that ahead of the election for president after Dahal broke the then coalition with UML. NC, Maoist Center, JSP and Unified Socialist had then decided to revive the pre-election alliance.
Dahal had quit the pre-election alliance with NC and Unified Socialist on December 25, 2022 and became prime minister (PM) with support of CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party, RPP, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party after Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba refused to make him PM first.
Oli had assured NC that UML will not ally with Maoist Center at any cost and would instead ally with NC to form the new government to encourage Deuba to break the agreement to make Dahal PM first.
