KP Sharma Oli defends decision to dissolve Parliament

KATHMANDU: A day after the dissolution of the House of Representatives, Nepal's embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said the decision to dissolve the parliament was not taken abruptly.

Defending his move to dissolve the house which was later stamped by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Oli said that due to the activities of some leaders within the party against the people's expectations and wishes, he was forced to dissolve the house after being picketed by party leaders.

Addressing the nation on Monday, Oli argued that the government elected by the people had no choice but to go before the people after it was not allowed to work.

"The developments that took place yesterday may seem unpredictable and abrupt, but this situation has been created by the inconsistent, distorted and contrary to the will of the people for a long time in national politics and some leaders of the party," he said.

"You are aware of the siege of the government over the last few months. Attempts were made to file a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister, and summon a parliamentary session without the knowledge of the party chairman and parliamentary party leaders," he said.

Although the mandate was for political stability, the current situation was created due to irrational disputes and stalemate, said Oli. Targeting Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, Oli accused him of going out of the country less than a year after the formation of the government and sending a message of instability.

During his visit to India in September 2018, Prachanda had given interviews to some Indian newspapers and outlets where he claimed that he and Oli had reached a gentlemen's agreement where Oli and he had agreed to split the premiership in equal time. Later Oli denied having such a pact with Prachanda.

Oli said that it was ironic that the government was under siege even though there were many nationalist works, including the publication of the map that included Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.

Recalling that when he was the Prime Minister for the first time, the government was overthrown after India lifted the blockade, Oli said, "The characters are the same even though the situation and the context are different. Isn't it clear that some of our leaders are trying to push Nepal into perpetual instability?"

He also accused some leaders of the ruling party of being more aggressive than the leaders of the opposition parties. Oli said that the government was not allowed to move ahead in line with the people's expectations.

The Prime Minister said that the government faced hurdles since the beginning. "Delay in government formation was done at the beginning. The government was formed by clearing the hurdles, and then some leaders attempted to create instability," he said.

"After the election, various activities were started to prevent national politics from moving forward in line with the people's demands. I think that the activities of delaying the formation of the government at the beginning and engaging the national politics under endless bargaining and pressure against the mandate are fresh in your memory," he said. (IANS) 

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