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| Kathmandu, Tuesday December 24, 2002 Paush 09, 2059. |
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‘Arms delivery Belgium’s
responsibility’
Phase-wise polls can be conducted: Chand
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Dec 23:Prime Minister Lokendra
Bahadur Chand today hinted that the government could hold phase-wise elections after the
security situation improves in the country.
And even if the government cannot make
significant headway towards the resolution of the Maoist insurgency, the dates for
elections could be finalized after holding consultations with the political parties.
"The Prime Minister has said that the
elections can be held in different phases - if the government cannot find an exit towards
the resolution of the Maoist insurgency," members of the Governmental Assurances
Committee of National Assembly, the Upper House of parliament, quoted Prime Minister Chand
as saying in the meeting.
According to the parliamentarians present at the
meeting, Prime Minister repeatedly said that the government was ready to hold elections in
the country in different phases.
He also said that the government would soon
convene an all-party meeting to discuss the possibility of holding phase-wise elections in
the country within a week.
This was Chand’s first ever visit to a
parliamentary committee after he was appointed as the country’s Prime Minister by His
Majesty the King in early October.
The Prime Minister informed the committee about
the executive power, controversial statements of the ministers, citizenship controversy
and Maoist insurgency, according to parliamentarian Kedar Prasad Neupane.
On the status of the arms being delivered to
Nepal by the Belgian government, Chand said that it was the responsibility of Belgium to
deliver arms to Nepal, but hastened to add that he didn’t know much about it.
An aircraft carrying sophisticated machine guns
to Nepal has got stuck in Kazakhstan for more than a week after India denied overflying
permission to the yet-undisclosed cargo carrier. On Sunday, officials in Nepal said that
the plane would fly to Nepal soon after offices reopen on Monday, but the status of the
plane was not clear until late Monday.
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