Nepal President`s intervention sought for appointing new PM

Kathmandu: With Nepalese parties failing to select a consensus prime ministerial candidate, a top Madhesi leader Tuesday sought President Ram Baran Yadav`s intervention in appointing an independent person to lead a national unity government for holding fresh elections.

"As major political parties have failed to forge consensus to give a name of the Prime Minister to lead a national unity government, we have suggested to appoint an independent person as the Prime Minister," Sadbhawana Party President and Health Minister Rajendra Mahato told reporters. He was speaking after at the end of the four-day long extended meeting of the central working committee of the party at Newbaneshwor in Kathmandu. "If political parties failed to reach an agreement to recommend the name of a single candidate of the Prime Minister, we advise to give all the names of the independent candidates recommended by various parties to the President and authorise him to choose among them," Mahato said. Such a prime minister will lead the government for a three-month period to conduct polls, he said. Maoist chief Prachanda had floated the idea of appointing an independent candidate as the prime minister. The Maoists had rejected Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala as the candidate for new Prime Minister. Nepali Congress had proposed Koirala for the top post after the Maoists and CPN-UML asked the party to name its Prime Ministerial candidate last month. Mahato, however, warned that if the parties failed to agree on the date of fresh election by April, his Sadbhawana Party will go for agitation. There is a need to institutionalise the achievements of the Peoples Movement of 2006 by promulgating the constitution through the Constituent Assembly at the earliest, Mahato said. He also warned conspiracy is being hatched against democracy, federalism and republic system by regressive forces. It is high time to preserve the achievements of the struggle by institutionalising federalism, republic system and democracy by holding the Constituent Assembly elections as soon as possible. Nepal plunged into political and constitutional crisis after Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai dissolved the Constituent Assembly without promulgating the Constitution as promised by him in May. The political crisis further deepened after the elections announced by the Prime Minister could not be conducted on the stipulated date of November 22. PTI