By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : The bickering among the major parties over who should get the presidential nomination appeared to have further intensified Tuesday with the Nepali Congress (NC) staking its claim for the presidency formally.
During a meeting with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) leaders, the NC leaders proposed that Prime Minister GirijaPrasad Koirala be made the first president of republican Nepal. However, the CPN-M side is said to have reiterated that it will not, at all, back Koirala as the presidential candidate.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, NC joint general secretary Arjun Narsingh K.C. said the NC, as the second largest party in the Constituent Assembly, has the right to make the second choice since the CPN-M has already made its own (government’s leadership).
The two parties could not arrive at a conclusion regarding the presidential nominee and the formation of the new government to be led, possibly, by the CPN-M Chairman Prachanda.
The CPN-M held separate talks with leaders of the Communist Party Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist and three Madhesi parties Tuesday on the election of the president and formation of the government, but could not reach consensus on any of the issues.
During the meeting, leaders of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party and Sadbhawana Party together asserted that they would not join the government unless they got clear commitment to address the issues raised by them, chiefly the demand for “autonomous Madhesh province”.