Kathmandu, Nov 19: The expansion of caretaker ministry by Nepalese King Gyanendra has led to sharp criticism from major political parties, even as foreign aid donors urged the government to conduct elections as early as possible and hold peace talks with Maoist rebels.
The King's cabinet expansion yesterday indicates his "desire of playing the role of an active monarchy," alleged
Narahari Acharya, central committee member of the country's largest party Nepali Congress.
The solution to the current political stalemate should be
sought by forging consensus among all political forces through democratic procedures, he said.
Any move without seeking support from the major political parties will not fail to bring any positive result,
said UML leader K P Sharma Oli. The country is in a deep
crisis, and this will further worsen the situation, he added.
Meanwhile, the donor countries have set condition for their continued support to the government saying that power to the people is a must for their support.
During their first ever joint meeting with the Prime
Minster Lokendra Bahadur Chand after the formation of the
caretaker government, the heads of the diplomatic missions
here urged the government to announce the date for an early general election and local bodies elections.
The donors have expressed dissatisfaciton over the current situation in which there is no elected representations in local or parliamentary level.
They called for solving the seven-year old Maoist insurgency through dialogue.
They stressed that the resolution of the present conflict should be backed by the political consensus, ‘The Kathmandu Post’ reported.
Bureau Report
