Intra-party feuds fuel Home Ministry row
KATHMANDU, FEB 13 - The row over whether the Nepali Congress (NC) or the CPN-UML should be allocated the Home Ministry has been further complicated due to the emergence of intra-party disputes.
UML leaders claim Prime Minister Sushil Koirala is unable to allocate the Home Ministry to the UML as per the seven-point agreement as a result of objections from prospective candidates within the NC. NC leaders Prakash Man Singh, Shekhar Koirala and Arjun Nar Singh KC among others have opposed the allocation of the Home Ministry to the UML.
On Tuesday, Singh refused to take the oath of office and secrecy in the capacity of a minister without portfolio. A senior NC leader claimed that former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal called on PM Koirala, asking him to cease allocating ministerial berths until the dispute settled.
“The delay in government formation was the result of internal differences emerging within the PM’s party and his incompetence to enforce a settled agreement,” said UML leader Pradeep Gyawali.
On the other hand, NC leaders said that they are not in a position to allocate the ministerial portfolio to the UML following requests from some senior UML leaders who aim to thwart Vice-chairman Bam Dev Gautam’s attempt to become home minister. Sources close to the NC and UML say senior UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has requested PM Koirala not induct Gautam as home minister. Nepal is advocating for the appointment of Bishnu Poudel instead of Gautam..
Both UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and Nepal are reluctant to see Gautam as deputy prime minister and home minister after he played a crucial role in defeating Khanal in elections for the post of parliamentary party (PP) leader.
“I have also heard that some of our party leaders including Madhav Nepal lobbied to stop Bam Dev assuming the home ministry portfolio. But I can not believe it,” said a senior UML leader.
Though PP leader KP Sharma Oli, Vice-chairmen Gautam and Bidhya Bhandari, General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel, Secretary Shankar Pokharel and Bishnu Poudel, among others, are standing together, leaders close to Nepal believe Poudel could be poached from the Oli faction ahead of the party’s ninth General Convention scheduled for mid-April after offering him the Home Ministry portfolio. Leaders close to Nepal say this move could weaken the Oli camp.
NC leaders are skeptical at a UML decision requesting two-time Home Minister Gautam be allocated the Home Ministry in the context of upcoming local polls.
As the NC delays appointing Gautam, the UML has refused to cooperate with the NC.
No pact yet with UML: PM Koirala
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sushil Koirala claimed on Wednesday that there was no agreement on allocating Home Ministry portfolio to the CPN-UML.
Koirala’s remark comes at a time when UML leaders are accusing the NC of breaching the bilateral agreement on the issue. Speaking to reporters after a CA meeting, Koirala said his party will discuss with the UML to resolve the dispute over Home Ministry .
Stating that the two parties have no alternative to joining forces for drafting the constitution, UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal said the NC should demonstrate respectable behavior. (PR)
