Poll rigging probe committee demand unacceptable: Congress-UML

Kathmandu: Leaders of Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (UML) have rejected the UCPN (Maoist) along with few other parties’ demand of forming a probe committee, terming the vote rigging allegation by the defeated parties as an ‘imaginary’.

Speaking at a face-to-face interaction programme organised by Reporters Club Nepal under the presidency of its president Rishi Dhamala in capital today, the influential leaders of two major parties-NC and UML- have advised the parties dissatisfied with the polls to knock the doors of the Constitutional Assembly court, which has been constituted to resolve the electoral disputes. Terming the vote rigging allegation by the Maoist ridiculous, he accused the UCPN (Maoist) of vote rigging in the constituency that it has won.

UCPN (Maoist) has option to go to the Constituent Assembly court if it has any evidences of the vote rigging, Dr Mahat opined.

He also rejected the recent demand floated by the UCPN (Maoist) to amend the constitution for adopting consensual politics.

“People have given the mandate for writing new constitution, but not to amend the interim constitution. Constitution cannot be amended to fulfill any party’s motive,” he said.

The Maoists are not showing political decency by refusing the people’s mandate despite doing politics in the name of people, leader Mahat noted, stressing that the constitution would be promulgated in line with the people’s mandate which is against ethnic states.

 CPN-UML Publicity Department Chief Pradeep Gyawali underlined the need of forming all-party consensus government till the promulgation of a constitution.

He, however, expressed his doubts that the reinstating the provision of mandatory consensus process in the interim constitution might lead to the loss of achievements made so far.

There is no need to amend the constitution as the Article 38 (1) of the interim constitution has the provision to form government and the constitution keeps the door open for drafting the constitution through consensus, the UML leader said.

The UML’s priority is to form a consensus government and promulgate a constitution within two years by preparing its draft within a year, he added.