Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal met with the new prime minister at the latter´s official residence in Baluwatar Tuesday morning, but the meeting ended inconclusively after both the leaders staked claim to the Ministry of Home Affairs.[break]
“The home ministry was the bone of contention at today´s [Tuesday] meeting as well,” a UML standing committee member told Republica.
Meanwhile, the meeting of the Maoist Standing Committee scheduled for Tuesday afternoon was postponed after the party failed to settle the row with the UML over the home ministry.
“The only solution is th
e seven-point agreement we reached with the UML must be recognized and honestly implemented,” said Maoist leader Shakti Basnet. He also pointed out the possibility that his party may stay out of government while lending its support to Khanal, if the power-sharing dispute is not settled amicably.
Leaders say the problem arose as the wording in the so-called secret seven-point deal reached between the two sides is ambiguous.
“The sharing of important ministries, including home and defense, would be done in an appropriate and dignified manner,” the seven-point agreement states.
Citing the agreement, Maoists insisted that they can´t make any compromise on home ministry, while the UML argued that the prime minister´s party should lead the ministerial portfolios that look after law and order situation in the country.
In the Baluwatar meeting in the morning, Khanal and Dahal agreed to hold bilateral talks on the matter. Later, Khanal asked the party´s talks team chief KP Sharma Oli to hold a meeting with the Maoists to settle the disputes.
Later in the afternoon, Oli met Dahal in a church at Shantinagar where the Maoist chairman had earlier addressed a central committee meeting of the Maoist-aligned Dalit Mukti Morcha. “Dahal and Oli held one-on-one meeting inside the church building,” said a Maoist leader. But the details of the talks are yet to be known.
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