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NC debates PM candidate
- Two veeps at odds over who should decide
KATHMANDU, JUN 18 -
A heated debate has begun in the Nepali Congress as to who would be the prime ministerial candidate if the party gets a chance to form a new government.
In Friday’s Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting, NC Vice-president Gopal Man Shrestha countered another Vice-president Prakash Man Singh’s argument on Thursday when he had said that the party’s Parliamentary Board would take a final decision on picking the prime minister.
Singh had said that the Parliamentary Party leader will automatically get to lead the government as per NC statute’s Article 6, indicating Ram Chandra Poudel as the unanimous candidate. “Prakash Man ji reasoned that the PP leader would automatically become the prime minister and requested us not to think of the top post; this is not true and I opposed this view today,” Shrestha told the Post on Friday.
“The PP leader will not be the candidate for the prime minister’s post as in the past we sent Sher Bahadur Deuba to contest Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal through a decision of the Parliamentary Board; ditto was the case of Ram Baran Yadav during the president’s election,” Shrestha added.
Two leaders — PP leader Ram Chandra Paudel and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba — are currently frontrunners in the race, while General Secretary KB Gurung has also staked claim to the top post. The two vice-presidents — Singh and Shrestha — are now at odds over the issue. While Singh has clearly stood in favour of Paudel, the Shrestha-led faction is backing Deuba.
According to NC leaders, the debate over the prime ministerial candidate intensified after Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal told them he would step down soon.
In Friday’s meeting, CWC members Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, NP Saud and Uma Adhikari supported Shrestha’s argument that the Parliamentary Board should pick the candidate, while Sushil Man Sherchan, Mina Pandey and Suprabha Ghimire reasoned that Paudel automatically qualifies for the top post.
Some other CC members said it will be difficult to name a future prime minister without consulting with other parties.
“This is not the time to fight over the prime minister’s post; we should seek a consensus candidate soon,” said CWC member Binaya Dhoj Chand.
NC General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi, a confidant of Deuba, said PP leader Paudel will not automatically become the candidate for the prime minister’s post. “The CWC will take the final decision on that,” Nidhi told the Post.
Posted on: 2010-06-19 08:56
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