Kathmandu: Two senior Nepalese leaders,
including the chief of the ruling party, on Tuesday left for India
where they are set to meet the Indian leadership, as the
political crisis in Nepal deepened with the Maoists stepping
up their protests to destabilise the government.
Jhalanath Khanal, the chairman of CPN-UML which heads
the 22-party ruling alliance and Upendra Yadav, president of
Terai-based Madhesi People's Rights Forum headed for India on Tuesday as Nepal's political crisis deepened with Maoists
stepping up their street protest to destabilise the
government.
Khanal, who was invited to New Delhi by the Indian
government, will be holding talks with Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party
sources said.
Khanal is also expected to hold consultations with
Indian communist leaders, who have close links to the Nepal
Maoists.
The Nepalese communist leader will also hold meetings
with the leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party,
including its chief Rajnath Singh.
With just two weeks left for the government to get the
parliamentary approval for the budget, Nepal could run out of
cash to run essential services including hospitals, The
blockade of the House by the Maoists has disrupted the passage
of budget for the current fiscal year.
The nation's Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said
Nepal is faced with a serious financial crisis. "If the budget
is not passed in next two weeks there will be a financial
crisis."
Former Foreign Minister Yadav, the President of the
Madhesi People's Rights Forum, handed over a nine-point
memorandum to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Sunday
asking him to fulfil its political and economic demands,
including providing Hindi the official language status at the
earliest.
Nepal's Terai plains are home to about half of the
country's 27 million people, and the residents of the region,
known as Madhesis, have long complained of discrimination by
the country's hill communities.
The Maoists on Tuesday stepped up their protests to
dislodge the government by picketing village administration
and municipal offices nationwide, stalling work in government
offices.
They are moving toward their planned blockade of the
Kathmandu valley and the the country's only international
airport on November 10.
The Maoists have been blocking the Parliament and
organising protests since Prachanda resigned on May 4 as prime
minister after the President Ram Baran Yadav reinstated
General Rukmangad Katawal, the then Army Chief dismissed by
Prachanda.
Describing President's move to reinstate General
Katawal as "unconstitutional and undemocratic", the Maoists
have demanded an apology from Yadav and discussion of his
decision in parliament so as to enforce "civilian supremacy"
in the country.
Khanal today held consultations with Nepali Congress
president Girija Prasad Koirala before leaving for New Delhi.
The meeting is regarded here as an effort to diffuse the
current political stalemate.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 03, 2009, 17:57