Oli's party withdraws support to Prachanda; no immediate threat to govt

Nepal PM's first foreign visit to Qatar cancelled after fresh jolt to the fragile two-month-old ruling coalition

Nepal’s second largest party in Parliament — CPN-UML — on Monday decided to withdraw its support to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”-led government in the wake of a renewed political equation in the run-up to the presidential election, dealing a jolt to the two-month-old ruling coalition.

“A high-level meeting of the party held under the leadership of party chief KP Sharma Oli on Monday decided to quit the government and withdraw the party’s support to the Prachanda-led government,” Bishnu Rijal, deputy chief of the party’s central publicity committee said. 

The prime reason for the break-up of the alliance between Prachanda and former prime minister Oli was because the Maoist leader decided to support senior Nepali Congress (NC) candidate Ram Chandra Paudel for the President’s post.

Paudel is from the Nepali Congress, an opposition party, and from outside the ruling alliance. Nepal’s Presidential election will be held on March 9.

Meanwhile, Prachanda has also cancelled his first foreign visit to Qatar due to some “important political engagements” at home, officials said on Monday.

As PM Prachanda violated the December 25 agreement while forming the seven-party coalition government and betrayed the Communist Party of Nepal-(Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), the party took the decision to leave the government, Rijal said.

“The UML ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Poudyal and Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Poudyal, are in the process of tendering resignation to the Prime Minister,” he added.

There were eight UML ministers including Deputy Prime Minister in the Prachanda-led incumbent government and all of them are resigning en masse.

The exit of CPN-UML may not immediately affect the Prachanda-led government, which is supported by the Nepali Congress (NC) which has 89 lawmakers in the House. With the three major parties, NC (89), CPN-Maoist Centre (32) and RSP (20), the government has support of 141 lawmakers. 

UML’s vice-chairman Bishnu Prasad Paudel claimed that PM Prachanda used pressure tactics on the UML ministers to quit the government, which forced them to withdraw support, according to My Republica newspaper.

He said Prachanda warned that if the CPN-UML does not leave the government, he would immediately dismiss the ministers or even appoint departmental ministers without them, the report said.

He alleged that PM Dahal demonstrated immaturity by stopping Foreign Minister Paudyal, who is from the UML party, was about to visit Geneva, to attend a high-level session of the UN Human Rights Council.at the eleventh hour.

Oli has claimed that while backing Prachanda’s bid for prime minister last year, it was agreed upon that the post of President would go to the member of his party.  Paudel also accused Prachanda of not wanting political stability in the country as he was not ready to honour the agreement reached with the party earlier, My Republica report added.