PM Prachanda will not quit, says his close aide; Opposition demands resignation

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will not quit, his close aide said on Thursday, amid the Opposition's demand for his resignation over the stunning disclosure that an Indian businessman settled here ''once made efforts'' to make him the premier that stirred up a storm in the Himalayan Nation.

Communication and IT Minister and Government spokesperson Rekha Sharma said the Prime Minister will not resign over his remarks about Sardar Pritam Singh during a function to launch a book, 'Roads to the Valley: The Legacy of Sardar Pritam Singh in Nepal' here.

In his remarks, Prachanda had said that Singh, a pioneer trucking entrepreneur in Nepal, played a special and historic role in enhancing Nepal-India relations.

''He (Singh) had once made efforts to make me the prime minister,'' Prachanda said. ''He travelled to Delhi several times and held multiple rounds of talks with political leaders in Kathmandu to make me the prime minister,'' Prachanda said.

The remarks have stirred up a storm and drawn criticism from several quarters.

The Prime Minister did not say something that required him to resign, Sharma said while briefing the media about the Cabinet decisions on Thursday.

She said the Opposition demanded the Prime Minister's resignation at a time when Parliament was about to pass a bill relating to punishing loan sharks. The opposition demanded the PM's resignation only to divert the attention of the Parliament, she added.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's secretariat issued a statement, saying his remarks were ''misinterpreted.'' ''There were efforts to fulfill political interests taking advantage of the remarks, and the matter had drawn 'serious' attention of the secretariat,'' according to the statement issued by the Prime Minister's Press Advisor Govinda Acharya.

The secretariat accused major opposition parties of obstructing parliament in the name of the said statements attributed to the Prime Minister. As a result of the obstruction in parliament, the ordinance to bring the bill to criminalise the usury practice has been annulled depriving the victims of justice, reads the statement.

''We would like to offer deep sorrow over the annulment of the ordinance, and are committed to take necessary initiatives in favour of the victims of loan sharking.'' Prachanda's party - CPN (Maoist Center) - said that it was concerned over the propaganda by the opposition about the Prime Minister's statement on Sardar Pritam Singh.

The ruling alliance has expressed concern over the act of opposition parties, including the main Opposition party Communist Party of Nepal-(Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), in parliament, terming it 'non-political' and 'non-parliamentary'.

A meeting of the ruling parties at the PM's official residence Thursday reached the conclusion that the opposition parties stood against the government efforts to ensure justice to those affected by the usury practice contributing to aborting the government's plan to present the 'Bill to Amend some Nepal Acts including the Civil Code-2080 BS'.

''Any party or member in parliament is allowed to criticize the public statement of the Prime Minister, but the way major opposition parties chose to protest was against parliamentary norms,'' said CPN (Unified Socialist) Vice Chairman Rajendra Pandey.

The House of Representatives meeting was postponed until Friday, following the disruption by opposition parties— the UML, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) — over Prachanda's remarks.

The members of the main Opposition Communist CPN-UML and the RPP shouted slogans that "a Prime Minister appointed by New Delhi does not have the right to continue in the post".

The CPN-UML disrupted the National Assembly meeting on Wednesday also, demanding the prime minister's resignation. Speaking in the lower house, UML lawmaker Raghuji Pant said, "The prime minister should resign on moral grounds. We don't need a prime minister appointed by Delhi." Not only the opposition, but the ruling parties have also expressed their dissatisfaction with Prachanda's statement.

"The prime minister's remarks are worthy of criticism. His remarks are wrong," said Bishwa Prakash Sharma talking to journalists after the House meeting on Wednesday.

This is not the first time Nepal's top leaders have courted controversy for their imprudent remarks over sensitive issues such as geopolitics, bilateral relations and other national issues.

The Prime Minister has clarified his controversial remarks about Singh at the book launch on Sunday saying that "it has been misinterpreted to cause a stir." Addressing a training program organised by All Nepal National Independent Students Union, a sister organisation of his party in the capital on Wednesday, Prime Minister Prachanda said that what he had said about Pritam Singh at the launching of the book 'Roads to the Valley' (The Legacy of Sardar Pritam Singh in Nepal) authored by Kirandeep Sandhu was quoted from what Pritam Singh had said in the book, but people are trying to make a fuss over it.

"I wanted to show that Pritam Singh was not only interested in social service and transport business but also in politics and that he had lobbied with parties in Delhi as well as in Nepal to make him Prime Minister." ''In my opinion, the Prime Minister might not intend to indicate India's intervention in Nepal's internal politics. But he should have used political and diplomatic words in a cautious manner while speaking about such a sensitive issue," said Ganesh Shah, CPN-Maoist Centre secretary while giving his comment on the Prime Minister's controversial remarks.

The Parliament was dwelling on serious and important issues but unfortunately, his remarks made its postponement lose valuable time, which could have otherwise been used for fruitful discussions, he pointed out.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)