Pushpa Kamal Dahal said an Indian businessman “ever made an effort” to make him prime minister
kathmandu:
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s astonishing comments that an Indian businessman who settled here “ever made an effort” to make him prime minister has created a storm in the Himalayan nation, with the opposition demanding his resignation.
Prachanda also said that Sardar Pritam Singh, a pioneer of trucking in Nepal, played a special and historic role in improving Nepal-India relations.
Prachanda made these remarks on Monday while addressing a function to launch the book ‘Roads to the Valley: The Legacy of Sardar Pritam Singh in Nepal’. “He (Singh) had once tried to make me prime minister,” Prachanda said.
“He traveled to Delhi several times and held multiple rounds of talks with political leaders in Kathmandu to make me prime minister,” the prime minister said.
Prachanda also said that Singh has played a special and historic role in improving Nepal-India relations.
The comments have caused quite a stir and drawn criticism from various quarters.
The main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) disrupted the National Assembly meeting on Wednesday and demanded the prime minister’s resignation. The meeting has been postponed to Thursday at 1 p.m.
CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli, speaking to media people on Wednesday, said they want the prime minister’s resignation, not clarification.
Former Prime Minister Oli demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation, saying: “His remarks dealt a blow to national independence, dignity, the constitution and parliament itself.”
Similarly, the House of Representatives meeting has been postponed to 3pm on Friday, following the disruption by opposition parties – the UML, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) – over Prachanda’s remarks.
The members of the main communist opposition CPN-UML and the RPP chanted slogans that “a Prime Minister appointed by New Delhi has no right to remain in office”.
UML lawmaker Raghuji Pant said in the lower house: “The prime minister should resign on moral grounds. We don’t need a prime minister appointed by Delhi.” Not only the opposition, but also the ruling parties have expressed their dissatisfaction with Prachanda’s ruling.
“The Prime Minister’s comments are worthy of criticism. His comments are wrong,” Bishwa Prakash Sharma told reporters after the House meeting on Wednesday.
This is not the first time Nepal’s top leaders have drawn controversy for their careless remarks on sensitive issues such as geopolitics, bilateral relations and other national issues.
Meanwhile, the prime minister clarified his controversial comments about Sardar Pritam Singh at a book launch on Sunday, saying that “it has been misinterpreted to cause a stir”.
During a training program organized by All Nepal National Independent Students Union, a sister organization of his party in the capital on Wednesday, Prime Minister Prachanda said what he had said about Pritam Singh at the launch of the book ‘Roads to the Valley’ (The Legacy of Sardar Pritam Singh in Nepal), written by Kirandeep Sandhu, was quoted from what Pritam Singh had said in the book, but people try to make a fuss about it.
“I wanted to show that Pritam Singh was interested not only in social services and transport, but also in politics and that he had lobbied parties in Delhi and Nepal to make him prime minister.”
“In my opinion, the Prime Minister may not intend to declare India’s intervention in Nepal’s internal politics. But he should have used political and diplomatic words in a prudent manner while speaking on such a sensitive issue.” said Ganesh Shah, CPN-Maoist Center Secretary as he commented on the Prime Minister’s controversial remarks.
Parliament kept dwelling on serious and important issues, but unfortunately his remarks meant that valuable time was lost that could otherwise have been used for fruitful discussions, he stressed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)