Nepali Congress tables proposal to end impasse

The Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in parliament, has come up with a four-point proposal to move the country out from the current political deadlock, the media reported yesterday.Nepali Congress president and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba held a meeting with NC Parliamentary Party’s office-bearers and central working committee members and decided to further intensify talks with the ruling partners as well as the opposition to forge an agreement on its proposal.The party proposed immediate finalising of the date for local body poll, endorsement of the election-related bills, resumption of the House proceedings, and giving a full shape to the election commission (EC).According to a report in the Kathmandu Post, the party hoped that the road map would help the parties find a ground to break the existing political deadlock.The main opposition Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), which has obstructed the House since the registration of the constitution amendment proposal on November 29, said that it was ready to let the House resume the business if political parties commit to endorsing the local poll related bill.Likewise, three election-related bills are in the waiting for an approval at parliament while posts for three commissioners at the EC are lying vacant. “A delay in opening the house business will prolong transition,” Nepali Congress general secretary Shashanka Koirala said after the meeting.Nepali Congress’s senior leader Ramchandra Poudel also spoke of the need of taking the country towards election phase to find a way out to the existing political imbroglio.Meanwhile, CPN-UML chairman and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli has reiterated that the amendment proposal can neither be discussed nor endorsed from parliament because that was ‘anti-national’ and unconstitutional.Addressing a press meeting of nine opposition parties on Sunday to announce the mass demonstration in Kathmandu, Oli warned the government that the opposition parties would not tolerate ‘politics of negation’ which would only lead to further conflict. The opposition parties have decided to organise a mass demonstration on January 6 at Exhibition Road to build pressure on the government to lead the nation towards elections.Oli accused Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of inciting people in the Tarai with a claim that the opposition parties will not be allowed to enter the southern plains. He urged Dahal to stop such activities and focus on elections instead.“He has been reaching one door to the next with scissors and matches for inauguration purposes,” Oli said, criticising the PM for overlooking for not focusing on his priorities—leading the nation towards elections by preparing necessary laws and declaring the election date.