Oli tables proposal asking PM to quit

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, May 25: Ruling CPN-UML Standing Committee member KP Sharma Oli tabled a proposal at the Central Committee meeting Tuesday demanding Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal´s resignation, stating that this had become indispensable to pave the way for a national consensus government.

"This CC meeting directs comrade Jhalanath Khanal to tender his resignation from the post so as to save the Constituent Assembly (CA) and the peace process and pave the way for forging a national consensus," reads the proposal registered by Oli at the CC meeting.

Oli recorded the nine-point proposal in the last minutes of the meeting, and it was not discussed due to time constraints.

CPN-UML leaders said the proposal will be tabled for discussions during the next CC meeting scheduled to start on May 31.

The rival faction in the party, which is led by Oli and former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, has been lobbying for the prime minister´s resignation allegedly because he was acting at the behest of the Maoists and against the UML´s decisions and policies.

In the proposal, Oli has demanded the scrapping of the seven-point deal that the prime minister and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal reached secretly just before Khanal became prime minister in February.

Oli has claimed that Khanal, while signing the deal, agreed to implement the Maoist agenda, discarding the UML´s official policy of people´s multiparty democracy. He has also accused the prime minister of violating the party decision in connection with appointing ministers.

He has demanded that the prime minister revoke his decision to appoint Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara as home minister and appoint an UML leader to the same post as per the party decision.

The CC meeting endorsed the party´s politburo decision to pave the way for a national consensus government.

"At the end of the meeting the chairman said that we would demonstrate a maximum level of flexibility to forge a national consensus and extend the CA term, and would be ready to pave the way for [new] government formation if there were strong grounds for that," said the statement issued by party Secretary Yubaraj Gyawali.

At the meeting, 53 CC members aired their views on the politburo´s proposal. Some lawmakers including Ghanshyam Bhusal, Raghubir Mahaseth, Gokarna Bista andYogesh Bhattarai stood against the proposal that suggested the prime minister to be ready to step down if necessary for national consensus.

Other leaders from the Nepal-Oli camp, including General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel, Bishnu Paudel, Bhim Rawal, Jagannath Khatiwada, Bhanubhakta Dhakal, Ganesh Timilsina, Jagat BK, Devraj Bhar, Karna Thapa, Devi Gyawali and Kalyani Khadka argued that the prime minister should be ready to resign to pave the way for national consensus.