PM's promise to resign a mistake: Dahal

KATHMANDU, Aug 7: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal has made a mistake by threatening to resign if there is no concrete deal on the peace process by August 13.



Dahal expressed this view during Maoist standing committee meeting at party headquarters Paris Danda on Sunday.[break]

 

“The chairman stated that the prime minister´s announcement goes against the ongoing efforts to reach consensus on the peace process,” Maoist Spokesperson Dinanath Sharma quoted Dahal as saying during the meeting.   



Sharma said the chairman believed prime minister´s promise has rather helped the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Madhes-based parties that are demanding immediate resignation of the prime minister.



On Monday, the prime minister had stated that he would step down if there is no agreement by August 13 on the contentious issues related to combatant integration, including the numbers, modality, standard norms, rank harmonization and rehabilitation package.



Party insiders said that the resignation threat has strained the relations between Khanal and Dahal, who wanted the current coalition to continue until a consensus on power-sharing is reached.



“But Khanal´s declaration to resign by August 13 has significantly weakened the chairman´s bargaining power,” said a leader close to Baidya.



The Maoists have forwarded the name of Dr Baburam Bhattarai as the party´s prime ministerial candidate. But NC President Sushil Koirala has publicly stated that his party would back Dahal as prime minister if the latter works sincerely for completing the peace process.  



The party hardliners have construed Koirala´s proposal as influenced by India´s intention to "play" with the contradiction within the party.



“Sometimes they propose the name of Bhattarai and sometimes that of Dahal. India is playing on the intra-party contradiction through Koirala. So we will stick to our decision to forward Bhattarai as the prime ministerial candidate,” said a senior leader from the hard-line faction.   



Spokesperson Sharma, too, said that his party has already chosen Bhattarai as the Maoist candidate for the post of prime minister, but added that the standing committee meeting on Sunday did not discuss the issue in detail.



Meanwhile, the organization department of the party, headed by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya, tabled a proposal on sharing party responsibilities among the leaders. The proposal has been referred to the top office bearers of the party due to disputes over newly redistributed responsibilities.

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