New Delhi: Former Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML party on Monday decided to withdraw its support to the Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”- led government, citing changes in the political equation, dealing a jolt to the fragile two-month-old ruling coalition in the country.
The prime reason for the break-up of the alliance between Prachanda and Oli was because the Maoist leader decided to support senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel for the President’s post.
Paudel is from the Nepali Congress, an opposition party, and from outside the ruling alliance.
Nepal’s Presidential election will be held on March 9.
The Communist Party of Nepal-(Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), made the formal announcement after top leaders of the party met on Monday, according to The Kathmandu Post newspaper.
“We decided to withdraw from the government after the Nepal Prime Minister started working in a different fashion and due to the changed political equation in the run-up to the presidential election,” Bishnu Prasad Paudel, UML’s vice-chairman said.
The exit of CPN-UML may not immediately affect the Prachanda-led government as the Nepali Congress (NC) has 89 lawmakers in Parliament.
In the 275-member House, the UML has 79 lawmakers.
Similarly, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist) and Rashtriya Swatantra Party have 32, 10 and 20 members, respectively.
Janamat Party has 6 members, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party 4 and Nagarik Unmukti Party 3 members in the parliament.
Prachanda needs only 138 votes in parliament to continue his term as the prime minister.
Paudel claimed Prime Minister Prachanda of using pressure tactics on the UML ministers to quit the government, which forced them to withdraw support, according to My Republica newspaper.
He said Prachanda warned that if the CPN-UML does not leave the government, he would immediately dismiss the ministers or even appoint departmental ministers without them, the report said.
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He alleged that Prime Minister Dahal demonstrated immaturity by stopping Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal, who was about to visit Geneva, at the eleventh hour.
Paudyal, who is from the UML party, was scheduled to fly to Geneva to attend a high-level session of the UN Human Rights Council.
However, Prime Minister Prachanda asked her to cancel the visit.
This move by Prachanda riled the Oli-led party even further.
Vice-chairman Paudel said, “We have taken this decision because Prime Minister Prachanda did not proceed according to the agreement of December 25 and exerted pressure on us to leave the government.” Prachanda, the 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre leader, was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 last year after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader Oli.
Prime Minister Prachanda’s party, which contested the November 20 parliamentary and provincial elections as a partner of the five-party alliance led by the Nepali Congress, left the alliance after it refused to give Prachanda any of the two key posts — the president or the prime minister.
Prachanda then forged an alliance with CPN-UML led by 71-year-old Oli to form the government.
Oli has claimed that while backing Prachanda’s bid for prime minister last year, it was agreed upon that the post of President would go to the member of his party.
Paudel also accused Prachanda of not wanting political stability in the country as he was not ready to honour the agreement reached with the party earlier, My Republica report added.
Meanwhile, Prachanda cancelled his first foreign visit to Qatar due to some “important political engagements” at home, officials said on Monday, amidst a threat to the stability of his coalition government ahead of the presidential election.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)