Nepali Congress begins talks with CPN-Maoist Center, JSP to topple PM Oli`s government

Kathmandu: Nepal's main Opposition party Nepali Congress has launched talks with the leaders of the CPN-Maoist Center and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) to topple Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and form a coalition government under its leadership, according to a media report on Friday.

The three-party meeting, which was held at the residence of Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba, ended on a "positive note" according to a report in myRepublica newspaper said. The meeting comes after NC's Central Working Committee last week decided to take initiative to form a new government under its leadership and ask Prime Minister Oli to step down and allow the formation of a new government.

If he does not resign, the NC will move a no-trust motion against him in the House of Representatives and take initiative to form a new government under its leadership to save the democratic achievements of the past, the party's senior leader Prakash Man Singh had said.

Maoist Center's Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha said both NC and CPN-MC led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' had asked for the official position of the JSP to form a new government under the leadership of NC.

"At the outset of the meeting, NC President Deuba informed the participants of the meeting about the party's decision to form a new government under NC's leadership. We clearly said that we have our support for the NC-led government. We also asked JSP leaders to make their positions clear at the earliest possible," Shrestha was quoted as saying in the report.

NC Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma said they had decided to wait until the JSP took its formal decision as Prime Minister Oli is also trying to solicit the support of JSP to save his government, the report said.

"Janata Samajbadi has asked us for a few days to make a decision. Today's meeting is positive. We will soon sit for another round of meetings once Janata Samajbadi takes appropriate decisions," Sharma was quoted as saying in the report.

JSP leader Mahanta Thakur said they have not held discussions on this issue in the party. "In fact, we are yet to hold a discussion on this issue. We have informed them that we will soon hold discussions on the proposal and take a decision at the earliest," he said.

Prime Minister Oli's dissolution of the House of Representatives in December triggered a political crisis in Nepal. However, in a landmark ruling, the apex court in February reinstated the lower house of Parliament.

The political scenario in the country worsened after the Supreme Court last month nullified CPN-MC's merger with CPN-UML. The two parties had merged in May 2018 to form a unified Nepal Communist Party following the victory of their alliance in the 2017 general elections.

According to sources, Prime Minister Oli-led government will lose majority in the lower house if CPN-MC led by 'Prachanda' withdraws its support.

A senior leader of the CPN-Maoist Centre earlier said that the Maoist party will withdraw its support to the Oli government that would pave way for forming an alternative government under the leadership of the Nepali Congress.