Sparks fly after collapse of Maoist-NC ruling coalition

In the Parliament session on Thursday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal presented a list of factors that led him to break the alliance with the Nepali Congress, giving continuity to the blame-game between the Congress and the CPN (Maoist Center). According to Dahal, though cadres of his party, the CPN (Maoist Center), fully supported NC candidates in elections, the level of support from NC toward Maoist candidates was far less. 

Our candidate from Koshi province got defeated in National Assembly elections as NC betrayed, he said. Another reason, according to PM Dahal, is the outcome of a recent Mahasamiti meeting of the NC, which censored the pre-poll alliance. He also questioned NC’s commitment to the Constitution, pointing that some NC leaders had spoken in favor of a Hindu state during the Mahasamiti meeting. 

Dahal objected to what he called a ‘negative portrayal’ of the Maoist insurgency in NC’s official documents and insufficient support from the ruling coalition partner for a smooth functioning of the government under his leadership. On its part, NC has accused Dahal of unilaterally breaking the ruling alliance without citing any substantial reason. 

Sharing decisions taken at the NC’s parliamentary party meeting on Thursday, Nepali Congress chief whip Ramesh Lekhak accused the Maoist Center of breaking the ruling coalition, though the Congress had always remained committed to it. 

Lekhak recalled that Congress had formed alliances with various parties for the protection of the constitution and consolidation of democracy, and contested elections accordingly, hinting at the possibility of such alliance in the coming days. 

The meeting held under NC president and parliamentary party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba discussed the evolving political scenario and decided to withdraw support given to Maoist Chair Dahal during the formation of the erstwhile government. 

Speaking in the Parliament, Lekhak said Dahal was betraying political parties repeatedly, in a pointer to stressed relations between the erstwhile coalition partners after the formation of a new ruling dispensation.