Leaders from Nepal’s ruling alliance meet to discuss common minimum programme

Kathmandu, Jan 4 (PTI) The top leaders from Nepal’s ruling seven-party alliance met here on Wednesday and discussed the minimum common programme of the new government and the cabinet expansion.

The meeting held at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar comes ahead of a confidence vote on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’-led government next week.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister and chairperson of CPN (Maoist Centre) Prachanda, CPN (UML) chair K P Sharma Oli, Deputy Prime Minister and President of Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane, President of Janata Samajwadi Party Upendra Yadav and President of Rashtriya Prajatantra Party Rajendra Lingden, according to sources close to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The latest political development, the minimum common programme of the government and expansion of the council of ministers among others featured during the discussion, according to the sources.

The top leaders of the ruling alliance also discussed the issues relating to seeking a vote of confidence for the Prachanda-led government.

The Prachanda-led coalition government requires at least 138 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives to survive the Vote of Confidence.

Prachanda, who claims the support of 169 lawmakers, is currently busy in preparation for seeking a vote of confidence at the federal Parliament on January 10. Meanwhile, Nepali Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the days of the Prachanda-led coalition government are numbered.

He said that as the government has been formed with a mixture of diverse ideologies from pro-monarchists to anti-monarchists, with different objectives and diverse nature, it is bound to be short-lived.

The members of the seven-party coalition government have many contradictions and are guided by an opportunistic mindset, therefore, its future is uncertain, he pointed out during a press meet at the party office in Lalitpur on Wednesday.

“The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the Parliament, will play the role of an active opposition and will always raise issues related to the general public,” he said. The 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre leader was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader Oli.