By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : Nepal’s Maoists Thursday warned the government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala that they would start a new revolt from Sunday if the ruling parties failed to implement their demands to sack King Gyanendra and switch over to a new election system by Saturday.
Maoist legislator and former minister Dev Gurung delivered the warning in parliament after the ruling parties failed to table any proposal for amending the constitution and pave the way for implementing the Maoists’ demands.
“Parliament directed the government to end monarchy and adopt a fully proportional election,” Gurung told IANS, referring to the battle started by his party in the house in October to scrap Nepal’s nearly two and a half centuries old crown.
Though the majority of MPs endorsed the demands, Koirala and his Nepali Congress, the biggest party in the house, have been blocking the demands since.
According to Nepal’s constitution, a two-thirds majority is needed to push the demands through.
Several rounds of parleys between the ruling parties and the Maoists failed to yield any compromise despite Maoist chief Prachanda’s expectation that a breakthrough would be effected Thursday.
“Though we are keeping hope till the last, the Nepali Congress has made no initiative to call a meeting of the seven parties Thursday,” Gurung said. “Nor did they table any proposal in the house to amend the constitution so that Nepal can be declared a republic.
“If they fail to do it by Saturday, there would be a political, moral and constitutional crisis.
“We will start a peaceful movement from Sunday. It will be both from the floor of the house as well as the street.”
The next session of parliament is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. It could be the beleaguered Koirala government’s last chance to save its seat.
Gurung said the new protests would go against the government, indicating his party would try to oust the Koirala ministry.
Meanwhile, shaken by the resignation of his trusted aide Mohanta Thakur from the cabinet as well as the party along with three other powerful MPs to form a Terai party, the prime minister Thursday began consultations with legislators from the turbulent plains to fight the fire.
Gurung blamed the state and the parties for the unrest in the Terai plains where people are now demanding autonomy.
“For 250 years, Nepal’s kings exploited and repressed Madhes,” he said, referring to the plains. “Though Nepal is a multi-ethnic country, the parties, who are monolithic and monopolistic, refused to acknowledge that and continued to dominate Madhesis.
“This is behind the MPs’ resignation.
“If the government fails to address the Madhes problems in time, it would secede. So would other ethnic communities.”
On Wednesday, the chief of the second largest party in the ruling alliance, that however is supporting the Maoist demands, suggested a fresh date for the twice-deferred constituent assembly election.
Madhav Kumar Nepal, chief of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist, is suggesting March 18 as the new date.
Gurung said the date was not important but the pre-conditions were.
“The government has to first fulfill parliament’s directive for declaring Nepal a federal democratic republic,” he said.
“It has to also adopt an election system that would truly reflect all communities, according to population.”