KATHMANDU: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has stressed that the seven-point agreement between the CPN-UML and his party remains the cornerstone of Jhala Nath Khanal’s election as prime minister. His party, therefore, expects UML to abide by the letter and spirit of the bilateral agreement. Dahal attributes the continued deadlock over the Cabinet expansion, 10 days into the prime minister’s election, to UML’s failure to take ownership of the agreement, which says that the Home, Defence and other important ministries will be “distributed appropriately and in a spirit of mutual respect.”
The Maoist party, however, is open to discussing an explanatory document to clarify various aspects of the Feb. 3 agreement whose legitimacy has been questioned by the Nepali Congress and a section of the CPN-UML. Two senior leaders in the prime minister’s party, former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and K P Oli, have strongly objected to the Maoist claim for the Home portfolio on grounds, among others, that the seven-point deal was “a secret one” between Khanal and the Maoist leadership.
“I had hoped that Jhala Nath Khanal had taken the consent of his party leaders before signing the agreement,” the Maoist chairman said in an exclusive interview to The Kathmandu Post on Saturday evening, on the eve of the 15th Anniversary of the Maoist “People’s War.” Dahal and a number of senior Maoist leaders were scheduled to leave for Thawang, Rolpa, on Sunday morning to mark the anniversary.
“Jhala Nath Khanal was elected as the prime minister on the basis of the agreement. So we can’t accept any amendment to the agreement,” he said. “First, the amendment should be owned up by the UML. Once that’s done, we can discuss its language and offer explanation if required. But we can’t compromise on the terms of the agreement.”
Asked if and when the Khanal Cabinet would take full shape, Dahal was hopeful the task would be completed in a day or two and expected his party to get the Home Ministry. UML Chairman Khanal was elected prime minister on Feb. 3 with the support of the Maoist party after 16 rounds of failed election which started
last July. But the absence of the Maoist party in the Cabinet now has put a new question mark over the long-term stability of the Khanal government and peace and constitution processes.
Dahal dismissed suggestions that the UML-Maoist deal was a secret one, adding that a number of UML and Maoist leaders were involved in the drafting process, which, by implication, meant that the process had come under purview of the larger party machineries.
"We had agreed to expand the (UML-Maoist) alliance. If we look at the inherent spirit of the deal, nobody in Nepal has the capacity to break it-because we have a clear majority. If we remain determined to implement the deal we will get two-thirds in the House."
Prime Minister Khanal polled 368 votes in the prime ministerial race early this month. There is now talk of MJF-Nepal (25 seats) and TMLP-Nepal (9 seats) joining the ruling coalition. Dahal, however, said: "There are efforts to break the alliance from those inside and outside the country. They want instability and indecision in Nepal,"Lauding the achievements of "People's War," Dahal said there had been many ups and downs in national politics since his party launched it in February 1996, but establishment of "republic and commitment to federalism were historic gains."
"We are neither dogmatic nor have we compromised entirely with reactionaries. We have brought about epochal changes in this period. It may seem obvious to us and for those who have lived through these changes but history will judge differently."
Dahal expressed confidence that the peace process will be completed by May 28. "As far are issues of constitution writing are concerned, some may remain unsettled until May 28, such as restructuring of the state and forms of government. Those issues can be resolved through referendum. If parties make remarkable progress, people will likely give us additional time to settle remaining issues."
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