NC stakes claim over govt, offers fresh talks

KATHMANDU, DEC 23 -
Staking a claim over the leadership of the new government, the Nepali Congress ( NC ) has formally decided to intensify talks  with other parties for consensus.

The party’s five-day Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting ended on Sunday, reaching a conclusion that being the largest party in the Constituent Assembly (CA) it has the mandate to lead both the government and the constitution drafting process and deliver the constitution within a year.

Despite the claim over the leadership of the new government, the party has not been able to pick its candidate for the prime minister. Sources said the top three leaders—President Sushil Koirala, senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel—are willing to stake their

claims to the party’s PM candidate.

Multiple sources in the party said that the trio will take the final call on who will be the party’s prime ministerial candidate.

“The three leaders will sit together and will come up with a name,” said a CWC member.

“A strong and unified party can lead the government as well as the constitutional process. An undivided NC is the need of the hour so that we decided to give this responsibility to them.”

The party also decided to go for a majority government if all efforts to form a consensual government fails.

The party called on other political parties to reach to consensus in forming the government under NC ’s leadership.

Party leaders said that they will start talks on power-sharing first with UML and then with other parties.

The spirit of the decision is to form a consensual government as per the Article 38 (1) of the Interim Constitution and a similar approach will be taken while drafting the constitution, said CWC member Gagan Thapa.

“The main objective is to deliver a constitution. The party will be more focused on statute drafting than on the government and power politics,” Thapa said, adding that almost all members emphasised on that point.

Party President Koirala told the meeting that the NC will try its best to bring all parties on board the government and the CA process.

Former Prime Minister and senior party leader Deuba told the meeting that it would be an offence if the party fails to deliver the constitution in one year. “The NC needs to bring all on board the constitution drafting process,” Deuba said.

Party Vice-president Poudel said that time has come for the Congress to take a lead on agendas pushed forward by social groups like Janajati, Madhesi and others. “The NC should lead the issues and agendas of all marginalised groups, Dalits, women and other under represented class of the society,” said Poudel.

The party also formed a panel to look into the agreements reached within the dissolved Constituent Assembly, to chart out the new procedure on what can be done to the past agreements and hold a cross party talks in this regard. The CWC member Narahari Acharya will lead such panel.

PR selection still undecided

KATHMANDU: The NC CWC meet which was called to formulate criteria for the selection of lawmakers under Proportional Representative (PR) system failed to accomplish the task after the CWC members were sharply divided on the issue.

It is agreed that party President Sushil Koirala, senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel will sit together and finalise the names, sources said. Those names will be tabled on the party Parliamentary Board and will be endorsed subsequently.

A code of conduct for the PR selection has been prepared, said party CWC member Chandra Bhandari. While some of the leaders, including Gagan Thapa, were in favour of formulating criteria others objected the proposal saying that there was no need for that. “Many claimed that as there were no criteria while selecting the candidates under first-past-the-post it is not needed for PR as well,” said Chitra Lekha Yadav, NC treasurer. She informed the Parliamentary Board led by Koirala has been tasked to select 91 lawmakers under the PR system which will be endorsed by the CWC meeting called for Wednesday.

Another CWC member Pravati DC Chaudhary said President Koirala had assured the dissenting leaders to select PR lawmakers fairly. “I will try to pick those names that will be agreed and will be justifiable to all,” Chaudhary quoted Koirala as saying during the meeting. The party president’s response came at a time when several CWC members raised concern that two factions of the party led by Koirala and senior leader Deuba are going to divide the PR seats by 60-40 ratio. (PR)

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