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Alliance meeting later this week
KATHMANDU, JAN 18 - The meeting of the five-party alliance, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday at the CPN-UML headquarters, is likely to witness the CPN-UML road map facing strong criticism from a section of the Nepali Congress (NC) for a number of reasons.
This seems inevitable since the NC source, associated with the section known for taking a critical view of the CPN-UML road map, claimed that the CPN-UML leadership was in for strident criticism.
So much so that the act of coming up with a road map of its own has been flayed as a violation of the code of conduct drawn up by the five-party alliance which, among others, proscribes any alliance member to impinge on the interest of the alliance.
However Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, a powerful Central Working Committee (CWC) member, debunked claims that the alliance was in for any inherent threat arising out of the ‘road map.’"It is baseless claims that the road map could precipitate any crisis just yet. As things stand, all parties have their private agenda but that does not mean they can impinge on the unity of the alliance," Dr Mahat said, issuing a call to refrain from making an issue out of the ‘road map’.
Dr Mahat said that the CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal too has expressed concern that extremists on both sides were out to foment controversy by whipping up issues of restoration of the House of Representatives and an all-party government.
"Take it from me, there will not be any crisis as long as there is consensus over a common agenda, which includes an all-party government," Dr Mahat said, ruling out any complication whatsoever.
But Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) leader Narayan Man Bijukche expressed the view that the five-party alliance could come up with the next phase of protest programmes at the end of the meeting rather than getting entangled in the CPN-UML’s road map.
"What (Madhav Kumar) Nepal has said today is the audience with King Gyanendra and the road map cannot be expected to disrupt the process of coming up with next phase of common protest programmes," Bijukche attributed Nepal as saying at the rally in Itahari, "thus ruling out any discord with the alliance partners."
Bijukche, however, hastened on to add that the alliance could still fall apart if the parties do not see the issues involved in the same light.
Similarly, Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) General Secretary Rajendra Mahato, too, conceded that the CPN-UML road map has indeed confused the parties something, which will be taken up in right earnest during the upcoming meeting.
"The party (CPN-UML) may explain its position vis-à-vis the 18-point agenda," Mahato said, adding that the conclusions drawn would decide the next course of action.
He did not perceive that the road map could scuttle the alliance just yet provided the parties are satisfied.Posted on: 2004-01-19 04:19
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