The mechanism, announced Friday after months of negotiations, is headed by Koirala, with UCPN(Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Khanal as members. [break]
The heads of the two major parties took the decision to this effect at a meeting Wednesday morning at Koirala´s residence, but Dahal is strongly against including the prime minister.
"I think the prime minister should not be a member of this mechanism. He will be included in the body as a permanent invitee-member," Khanal told reporters after the meeting.
While addressing a mass meeting in Dhangadhi, Dahal had said clearly that the prime minister´s presence in the HLPM was irrelevant.
"It is wrong to say that the prime minister should be in the political mechanism. It is the issue of government formation that has caused the political deadlock. So, why should he be there when his party chairman is already included?" Dahal said in Dhangadhi.
The mechanism, which was expected to be instrumental in resolving party disputes that frequently surface among and within the political parties, unfortunately came into controversy immediately after its formation.
Prime Minister Nepal was unsatisfied as the body was formed without including him while Maoist Vice-Chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai and CPN-UML leader KP Sharma Oli, among others, have termed it irrelevant.
Prime Minister Nepal´s Chief Advisor Raghuji Pant said the mechanism remains incomplete and it can´t function properly unless the prime minister is included. When asked if the prime minister would join the mechanism as a permanent invitee-member, Pant said, "It is not clear as I haven´t talked to the prime minister so far [Wednesday evening] on the matter".
"What I can say at this time is that he [Nepal] is the one who took the initiative to form the body. Moreover, it will be meaningless to form the mechanism if he is not included as a member because the prime minister is the one to implement its decisions," Pant said.
The PM´s Press Advisor, Bishnu Rijal, said, "Most likely he would join the mechanism because the body remains incomplete without his presence."
Other political parties have also expressed dissatisfaction at being excluded from the body.
The HLPM is expected to bring in more members to represent political parties including the Madhesh-based parties after holding a meeting later on. The meeting will be held once Khanal, who left for India Tuesday, returns on February 15. He has gone there on a family visit, said Khanal´s aide, Nirmal Bhattarai.
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