I did not talk about an alternative to the incumbent government

KATHMANDU, NOV 22 - Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala on Sunday gave a new twist to the much-hyped meeting with UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Singapore last week.

Koirala, who returned home on a regular flight after a week-long treatment at Gleneagles hospital in the city-state, dismissed rumours that there was a clandestine pact between him and Dahal to unseat the government.

There was no such discussion with Dahal in Singapore,  Koirala told Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who had visited him at his private residence.

 Upon arrival from Singapore last week, Dahal had told reporters at Tribhuvan International Airport that the ‘unnatural coalition’ would collapse soon, paving the way for a new alliance and a national unity government.

“I did not talk about an alternative to the incumbent government,” Koirala told Nepal clearing the air. “I talked about setting up a High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) as that was the need of the hour and finding a middle path to solve the current political deadlock. Also, I spoke about the passage of the budget with him,” Koirala told the prime minister, according to Nepali Congress leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula. The prime minister also enquired about Koirala’s health.

Dahal had claimed that a new political dispensation would be agreed to after Koirala returned from Singapore. Koirala has reiterated his support for continuity of the incumbent government, saying that, “This government must get continuity until the new constitution is in place,” Sitaula quoted Koirala.

According to Sitaula, Koirala will expedite political parleys with other top leaders including Dahal and CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal very soon and push the idea of setting up the HLPM. It will take another week to set up such a mechanism, he told the Post.

During the meeting, the prime mi-nister apprised him about political developments in the country, his mee-ting with Dahal and government preparations for passing the budget.

 Koirala will intensify discussions in the days ahead to defuse the political crisis, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

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