Kathmandu, June 30 (IANS) After resisting a year-long fierce battle by the Maoists to topple his coalition government, Nepal’s battle-weary Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal finally announced his resignation Wednesday in a televised address to the nation.
Blaming the opposition Maoist party for the failure of his 13-month-old government to promulgate a new constitution in time and restore peace, the 57-year-old said though he still enjoyed majority support in parliament, yet he was resigning to pave the way for a consensus among the parties.
The resignation comes more than a month after it was expected as the government faced an acute financial crisis as it could not convene parliament and table the budget after repeated warnings by the Maoists that they would block the government’s plans and policies.
In his 30-minute address, the Communist leader flayed the former guerrillas for their ‘negative politics’, which he said comprised ‘obstruction, sit-ins, general strikes and opposition’ and accused them of going back on their peace pledge.
The Maoists, Nepal said, were still continuing with violence and extortion and had prevented the dismantling of their guerrilla army and their paramilitary units. They also refused to return the public properties captured during the 10-year insurgency, he said.
They had also obstructed parliament for five months and kept the nation in a state of uncertainty, Nepal said.
The prime minister used his last address to trumpet the achievements of his own government, including the much-hyped meeting in the lap of Mount Everest to draw the world’s attention to the perils of climate change.
The resignation comes more than a month after he had allegedly promised to do so in exchange for the Maoists bailing his government out of a dire constitutional crisis.
On May 28, the government, parliament and the constitution would have been dissolved automatically as the major parties failed to promulgate a new constitution.
It was averted after the Maoists allowed the government to amend the constitution and extend the deadline by 12 months. In return, they said Nepal promised them he would step down within 72 hours.
But once bailed out, Nepal refused to quit, triggering a war of attrition.
The enraged Maoists, saying they had been betrayed, threatened to obstruct the new session of parliament and prevent the government from passing the budget, which would have plunged the republic into a financial crisis.
Though Nepal’s resignation will now pave the way for the house to convene its new session from July 5 without disruption, the turbulent Himalayan nation’s troubles are not likely to be over.
A new battle is feared over Nepal’s successor.
The Maoists, the biggest party in parliament, had been clamouring for a new government with their chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as the new executive.
But now there are rifts among the former guerrillas and Prachanda’s leadership is being challenged by his three deputies.
The second largest party, the Nepali Congress, is also keen to lead the new government.
Already part of the ruling alliance, it too has three contenders, including former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The third hat in the ring could be from Nepal’s own party, with chief Jhalanath Khanal reportedly showing interest.
Khanal has been crossing swords with his own comrade Nepal for several months now, calling his party-led government a failure.
Also eyeing the chair is the fourth largest party in parliament, the ethnic Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Loktantrik, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchedar.
