KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli has reneged on his promise to vacate the post of Prime Minister after half of the full term and hand over the position to me, argues Pushpa Kamal Dahal, co-chairman of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
Oli must not cry out foul if regime change takes place in democracy even in the middle of his term, continues Dahal in course of a TV interview with anchor Rishi Dhamala, host of a ‘Janata Jaanna Chahanchhan”.
While going for a merger of CPN-Maoist with the CPN-UML, Oli had “agreed to a proposal of sharing the full term of office of Prime Minister with me”, Dahal insists. It is to bring in light that Prime Minister Oli also shares the position of ‘party president’ along with Dahal who is up in arms to settle all the pending issues concerning the party affairs along with terms of the merger of CPN-Maoists with the ruling party.
“Either way I am unable to function to my fullest capacity because I am neither the Prime Minister nor the full-fledged Chairperson of the party exclusively in charge of its political affairs,” Dahal said in the interview.
He also denied the charge of being renegade, when asked to have a shimmering ambition of becoming the Prime Minister once again. “I am a people’s man and have no complaints against the present government as people are satisfied with its performance. However, I want to take over the charge of ruling party exclusively as its Chairperson,” exudes Dahal in the interview.
Nepal’s transition to democracy is final and irreversible. All the cases of human rights violations during the transition period will get addressed sooner or later, according to him.
When asked if he is shielding the perpetrators who allegedly worked for CPN-Maoists, Dahal denied that he is reluctant to go for speedy trial of perpetrators based on the findings of TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission).
“A democratic government functions for the people’s welfare — I am the person who led revolution for equality and justice in the society and not a single district in Nepal is left with the sacrifice of those who stood with me and my cause I fought for in 10-long years of conflict from 1996 to 2006,” Dahal asserted.
He went on to say that good governance, people’s welfare and nation’s prosperity are the highest priorities at this moment for both the ruling party and the government.
“My interest is aligned with people’s interest and my commitment to safeguarding territorial integrity and nation’s sovereignty cannot be brought into question,” he states.
Differences of opinions within the party and between the individuals are normal as it highlights your concerns for government and party, he adds.
“A person is not a rebel after a person is reminded of his past promises that he feigns to forget or simply wants to forget. I am simply doing the same,” he says.
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