Kathmandu: Amid the political standoff in
Nepal, the second largest party Nepali Congress has agreed to
support Maoist supremo Prachanda for the post of premier
provided the former rebels return seized properties, disband
its paramilitary youth wing and integrate their combatants.
Ramchandra Poudyal, the sole candidate who is adamant
over not quitting the prime ministerial race, has set four
preconditions for lending support to Prachanda to become the
Prime Minister for the second time.
65-year-old Poudyal said his party will support
Prachanda for the top post if the Maoists return the seized
property, disband its paramilitary youth organization, the
Young Communist League (YCL), integrate their combatants with
the security forces and hand over their arms to the
government.
"Property of many people which were captured by the
Maoists during the decade-long insurgency are still under the
Maoists control," Poudyal said.
"We want the former rebels to return all the seized
property to their rightful owners and end the violence and
terror unleashed by the YCL," he underlined.
Prachanda, the 55-year-old former Prime Minister,
withdrew from the race for the top post following a deal with
the CPN-UML on September 17 after he failed to get majority
support in Parliament seven times in a row.
Four months after the 22-party coalition led by
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal collapsed under intense
pressure from the Maoists, the parliament has been unable to
elect a new leader despite holding 15 rounds of poll.
The Maoists, CPN-UML and the Madhesi alliance have
been staying away from the election process as they want the
formation of a national government.
It has stalled the country`s peace process and delayed
the annual budget, bringing the nation on the brink of
financial crisis.
As per Nepal`s interim Constitution, the election
process should continue till a new leader is elected in the
parliament through a simple majority of 301 vote.
The Maoists led by Prachanda won the 2008 elections
and formed a government, but it later collapsed after a
dispute with President Ram Baran Yadav over their attempt to
replace the then Army chief Rukmangad Katwal.
PTI
