By IRNA,
New Delhi : Ahead of the crucial Friday vote, Maoist chief Prachanda’s hopes to become the next prime minister received a fresh setback Tuesday with CPN (UML) refusing to back his government if it did not include the Nepali Congress (NC) of his arch-rival G P Koirala.
“The next government should be a government of national consensus with the inclusion of Nepali Congress,” former general secretary of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal said after a crucial standing committee meeting of the party in Kathmandu, PTI reported.
The Maoists, which have 220 seats in the 601-member house, are hoping to form a majority government with support of the CPN-UML that has 103 lawmakers during the August 15 vote in the Constituent Assembly after the latest round of talks on forging ‘consensus’ among mainstream parties failed with Nepali Congress (NC) demanding the defense portfolio.
Outrightly rejecting the NC’s condition, Prachanda or Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he would rather sit in the opposition.
“We cannot give defense ministry to the Nepali Congress,” he said in response to the demand by NC which is the second biggest party with 110 members.
The Left party suggested that the two squabbling parties give up their claim on the defense portfolio to pave the way for a unity government.
“Maoists should not take the security ministries — home and defense — and the Nepali Congress should also not stick to the defense portfolio in order to create an atmosphere of consensus for the formation of the new government,” CPN(UML) leader Nepal said.