Nepal’s top parties warn to oust Regmi government if Nov election not ascertained

KATHMANDU: Senior leaders of Nepal’s major political parties have warned to oust the incumbent Chief-justice led government if it failed to hold CA elections in November.

Speaking at an interaction program organized by the Reporters’ Club Nepal on Saturday, UCPN Maoist’s Devendra Paudel aka ‘Sunil’ said that the Regmi government will not stay in power if it failed to hold CA elections in November.

“There will be no moral basis for the government to remain in power if it fails to fulfill its sole objective,” Paudel said at the program presided by Club’s President Rishi Dhamala.

While issuing the warning, Paudel questioned government’s commitment to hold CA election stating that it has been ‘unnecessarily’ delaying the announcement of CA election date by blaming Election Commission. Arguing that it was government’s responsibility to fix the date for CA election by creating conducive environment for it.

He stressed on the need to declare CA election date for creating conducive environment and opined that the declaring a date would be more instrumental in bringing dissenting political parties to talks.

However he said that the CPN Maoist and other dissenting parties had rights to boycott elections and claimed that CA elections should be held to avert further national crisis.

Confronting Paudel’s statement, Nepali Congres’ leader Gopal Man Shrestha claimed that CA elections couldn’t be held if dissenting political parties did not participate in it. “ If it were CA elections, than it would not matter if some parties remained out of it. But we are talking about CA elections and it cannot be held by keeping fourth major political force out of it.”

Accusing four major political parties of neglecting the CPN Maoist and other parties in discussions held prior to the formation of incumbent government, he stressed on the need to bring dissenting political forces into confidence before announcing CA elections.

On the occasion, Shrestha termed that Baburam Bhattarai’s recent accusation against the President were part of the Maoist grand design to foil CA elections even in November. While defending the President against the quo accusation made by Bhattarai, Shrestha said that the UCPN Maoist was plotting to hold CA elections.

“It would have been credible for Bhattarai to make such accusations while he was in power. These claims are irrelevant now. But instead hint towards his and his party’s intentions to avert CA election,” Shrestha added.