NC has maintained that opposition parties should instead start fresh protest against the Maoists if Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai remained adamant not to quit power for consensus. [break]“Nepali Congress has unanimously decided Sushil Koirala´s candidacy for consensus government. There is no point in withdrawing his candidacy now,” said NC leader Minendra Rijal, who is also one of the key interlocutors of the NC.
Rijal said NC along with other opposition parties will decide about starting a fresh protest if there is no consensus on the candidate.
“Baburam Bhattarai-led government has been a stumbling block for consensus. We will have no option other than to launch a fresh protest if the ruling Maoist party does not come forward for consensus,” said Rijal while adding that NC had picked Koirala for prime minister as per the request of Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the opposition parties including the UML.
During the UML Central Committee meeting on Wednesday, some leaders including former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had suggested to the party leadership to propose an alternative prime ministerial candidate to head the new election government. They made the suggestion arguing that such a decision could help the party to play a leading role in ending the deadlock.
The opposition parties including NC which have made the resignation of Prime Minister Bhattarai as precondition for consensus, argue that they failed to reach consensus after Prime Minister Bhattarai tried to force opposition parties to join his cabinet instead.
Consensus among parties became further elusive after Bhattarai floated the idea of independent candidate for prime minister -- something the opposition parties rejected outright saying it was just an attempt to prolong his stay in power.
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