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Kathmandu Wednesday March 28, 2001 Chaitra 15, 2057.
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PM raises possibility of unity
government
By Suman Pradhan
KATHMANDU, March 27 – Under fire from
opposition leaders, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala mooted the idea of a national
government during discussions with other political leaders today at an all-party meeting
convened by senior Nepali Congress (NC) leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.
According to those who participated in the meeting
held at Bhattarai’s residence at Bhainsepati, Koirala responded to opposition
criticisms of his government by saying, "by the picture you have painted, I think
what you all want is a national government (all-party government.). I will put such a
proposal at my party’s meeting." But he flatly refused to step down as prime
minister, the chief demand of almost everyone else in the meeting.
"Koirala talked about a national government
but flatly ruled out resigning from his position," a senior politician who
participated in the meeting told The Kathmandu Post on condition of anonymity.
The meeting convened today by Bhattarai was an
attempt to bring the warring political parties together to find a way out of the
parliamentary mess. The House has been disrupted for the entire Winter Session by the
opposition parties which is demanding Koirala’s resignation for his alleged role in
the infamous Lauda Air jet lease deal signed by RNAC, the flag-carrier.
The stalemate has thrown cold water on government
plans to pass three ordinances, one dealing with the formation of the Armed Police Force
(APF) and the other about setting up regional administrators, which are set to expire in
two weeks time barring parliamentary approval.
Koirala’s advisors today told The Kathmandu
Post that this was not the first time the PM had discussed the idea of a national
government. "He has been informally discussing the idea for some time," one of
his close aides said. "But I don’t think he has made up his mind to take that
route as yet."
The all-party meeting at Bhattarai’s residence
were attended by all the leaders of the national parties, including Bhattarai, Koirala,
Sher Bahadur Deuba from the NC. Madhav Nepal and K P Oli represented the CPN-UML. While
RPP’s Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepal Sadbhavana Party’s Badri Prasad Mandal and
Royal nominee to the Upper House Ramesh Nath Pandey were also present at the meeting.
Several leaders of minor left parties such as Narayan Man Bijukchhe, Lila Mani Pokharel
and Dilaram Acharya were also present. Speaker Taranath Ranabhat and Deputy Speaker
Chitralekha Yadav were also there.
Many of the leaders again laid out their own
agenda. Madhav Nepal of the CPN-UML once again asked Koirala to resign. RPP’s Thapa
also urged Koirala to step aside to resolve the parliamentary stalemate. The idea was
seconded by all the other leaders. Bhattarai himself called on Koirala to step down,
pointing out that he had all along asked the PM to resign even before the Lauda Air
scandal broke.
According to Koirala’s aides, the prime
minister simply listened. In the end he responded with the national government idea, and
suggested that all the issues raised in the meeting would first be discussed in NC’s
Central Working Committee.
But given the recent history of NC, the CWC is only
likely to reaffirm its leadership in Koirala, as did the recent NC gathering of district
leaders and activists.
The Koirala camp is genuinely bewildered by the
developments inside and outside parliament. They admit, they never foresaw Lauda Air
snowballing into such a huge controversy. But they also see a sinister design, the
so-called "grand design" which Koirala used to refer constantly in the past.
"Though it began from Lauda Air, we thought
that issue is currently under scrutiny both by the CIAA (anti-corruption agency) and
Supreme Court," says one of his close aides. "We though we could respond only
when those bodies made their rulings. But now, it appears that the whole operation is
being conducted with a single-minded purpose to derail the Armed Police Force ordinance.
The opposition, knowingly or unknowingly, has fallen into this design."
Meanwhile, a senior politician who belongs to a
completely different political spectrum, said that there is indication that Koirala could
end the Winter Session without attempting to pass the ordinances. "We’ve got
indications that he could then amend the Police Act and put the APF provisions in there.
That would prove his aim of bypassing parliament at any cost. In such an event, there is
no saying what could happen."
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