There is a new twist to ongoing political developments after Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal refused to reshuffle the cabinet? What is the dispute about?
Our official policy is to take initiatives for a national consensus government that would conclude the peace process and constitution drafting. So we should not be misunderstood. The problem surfaced as our party went into lengthy discussions on the issue of inclusion and proportionality and we were a bit late in nominating ministers to give the cabinet full shape. We are, however, trying to find middle ground to resolve the disputes. The cabinet ministers can be sworn-in in the first phase and if we don´t see the possibility of forming a new government, then we can administer oath to state ministers. [break]
Why do you think the prime minister has rejected your party´s nominations? Do you smell a rat in this?
The way the prime minister has been reluctant to reshuffle the cabinet is against the spirit of coalition culture. I am not sure why he has behaved the way he has. The argument he has forwarded to justify his stance is flawed as we are also not against the formation of a consensus government. The party that has already fixed its prime ministerial candidate for a national consensus government cannot be in favor of giving continuity to the current government. All we have been saying is that the cabinet should get full shape until a new cabinet is in place.
What is the possibility of formation of a national consensus government?
We have argued that the cabinet must be reshuffled and given full shape. And immediately after that we should hold serious talks on the formation of a national consensus government for the sake of peace and constitution. All the contentious issues should be immediately dealt with in a package.
What will be the scenario if the prime minister refuses to reshuffle the cabinet?
It will create a moral crisis for us as we have already made an official decision to send new ministers into the cabinet. The UML may also face the same problem if it has officially decided not to reshuffle the cabinet under the pretext of abiding by the five-point deal. So it will ultimately lead to the resignation of the prime minister. We will wait for the prime minister´s response for the next couple of days and then take decisions accordingly.
It is said that you and Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya don´t hold the same view on the issue of the government as you are in favor of forming a national consensus government and Baidya favors giving continuity to the government through a reshuffle?
It could just be a rumor. Our party has unanimously decided to give full shape to the current government before forming a national consensus government. We have no differences between us and there is no dispute about this in the party.
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