E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, DEC 28 -

President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav has summoned a regular session of the Parliament on Jan. 9 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Monday evening.

The decision to call the regular session follows pressure on the government from various quarters including the Speaker and the main opposition UCPN (Maoist). During the three-party talks on Monday, the Maoists declared they would not sit for dialogue on vexatious issues related to the peace process unless the government calls the new session.

The Maoist leaders, however, are not happy with the timing of the session. “We are not comfortable with the date set for the session,” said Maoist Vice-Chairman Naryan Kaji Shrestha. “We have doubts that the mid-January deadline of UNMIN might be one of the reasons for delaying the government formation process.”

UNMIN’s mandate extended by the UN Security Council in September expires on Jan. 15. The Maoists want a further extension of the mission while the government vehemently opposes it. “The UNMIN extension factor too might be a reason. If this government continues, there is no possibility of sending a request for continuation,” said a UML leader preferring not to be named. “It seems the government wants to prolong its stay in power beyond Jan. 15, so that it can exert additional pressure on the Maoists to compromise in the absence of the UN mission.” NC leader Ram Sharan Mahat that he didn’t see any connection between the House session and UNMIN’s stay or departure. “If the Maoists had agreed to bring their

combatants under the Special Committee and supported the secretariat to recruit manpower required for supervision of the cantonments, we were open to discussion for extending UNMIN after removing its purview over Nepal Army for one or two months,” he said.

The two-point agreement of the three major parties on Saturday had promised to continue efforts for forging consensus before the new session.

Controversies could erupt among political parties on the next roadmap once NC’s prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Poudel is put for voting.

Poudel claims that his candidacy is valid until it secures majority but the Unified CPN (Maoist), UML and a section of Congress want the proposal to be scrapped after it is defeated.

“The Speaker should use his special constitutional power to decide regarding the end of candidacy because the regulation doesn’t specify that a proposal can be scrapped if it fails to secure majority in election,” said Tek Prasad Dhungana, Chief Legal Advisor to the Constituent Assembly Secretariat.

The parties should amend the provisions regarding election of the prime minister before starting fresh process for choosing the new prime minister.

They should take a call on whether they would try for a consensus government following the summons from the President picturised in clause 38 (1) of the Interim Constitution or go directly for forming a majority government as per clause 38(2).

 

Posted on: 2010-12-28 08:45

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