By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : Clamour began mounting in Nepal for the resignation of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala after his multi-party government announced the indefinite postponement of a much-awaited election, for the second time this year.
The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), one of the largest parties in the country and a major partner in the ruling coalition, blamed the “inert” prime minister and “obdurate” Maoists for the poll fiasco and warned it could jeopardise the peace process.
The UML, along with two other ruling parties, had opposed the agreement struck between Koirala’s Nepali Congress party and the Maoists Friday to put off the Nov 22 election.
As the top leaders of the UML began consultations to discuss the fallout of the poll postponement, the verdict was that Koirala should step down for his continued failure to hold the election, regarded as crucial for restoring peace and stability in Nepal.
“The suspension of the election programme has jeopardised the accord between the Maoists and other parties, the peace pact, the constitution and the entire peace process,” the UML said in a statement issued after the meeting of its central committee members.
“The historic chance to hold the constituent assembly election has been missed due to the anti-election thoughts, behaviour and obduracy of the Maoists, combined with the inaction of the prime minister.”
A fresh blow for Koirala came from a former ally, a powerful ethnic group from the Terai plains, with whom the government had reached an understanding only last month.
The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, that registered itself as a party for the first time this year to fight the November election, said the premier and the government should quit immediately for failing to hold the polls in time.
Upendra Yadav, chief of the Terai party, said parliament should be dissolved along with the cabinet and a caretaker government formed to hold the election.
The fate of the hastily cobbled pact between the Forum and the government, that allowed the government to avert disruptive protests in the plains by the former, now lies in the balance.
“We had suspended our key demands – the immediate abolition of monarchy and adopting a fully proportional system for the election – on the assurance the election would be held on Nov 22,” Yadav said.
“The indefinite postponement violates our pact with the government.”
Now Koirala would have to grapple with a fresh round of protests from the Forum from Wednesday, 24 hours before a crucial special session of parliament that he is hoping would defuse the crisis.
From Oct 10, the Forum has called a fresh protest programme in the troubled Terai plains.
The party of a former prime minister, who is close to both King Gyanendra and India, also began clamouring for Koirala’s exit.
The Rastriya Janashakti Party of Surya Bahadur Thapa, who was nominated prime minister by King Gyanendra in 2003, is holding Koirala, the Maoists and the UML responsible for the debacle.
Prakash Chandra Lohani, a former finance minister, and senior leader of the party, said the government lacked both political will and governance skills and should step down for failing to meet people’s aspirations.
Despite the growing demand, there were indications from Koirala’s party that he would hold on to power though he had been repeatedly saying he would quit if he failed to hold the election in November.
It also seemed unlikely that the month-long impasse paralysing Nepal would be resolved by parliament Thursday.
The Maoists forced the prime minister to call the special session so that the legislators could vote to decide whether Nepal’s 238-year-old monarchy should be scrapped and a fully proportional system be used for the polls.
The crisis was triggered after Koirala refused to agree to either demand and the Maoists walked out of the government, announcing they would oppose the election.
Even now, the rebels are warning that they would not allow the election if their demands are not met while Koirala’s party says it will vote against the Maoist proposal in parliament next week.
Since Koirala’s party is the biggest in the house, its opposition will prevent the Maoists from getting the required two-third majority and their demands will be rejected, triggering the same opposition from them.
The rebels are already gearing up for fresh protests to mount pressure on the parties.
On Thursday, the day of the special session, they have called a nationwide protest, which will include encircling Singh Durbar, the administrative complex where parliament is located.