National
Deuba questions govt’s intention to hold elections
Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has expressed doubt about the incumbent government’s intention to hold local and provincial elections.Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has expressed doubt about the incumbent government’s intention to hold local and provincial elections.
“It’s true that local and provincial elections are indispensable. But the present government doesn’t really intend to conduct them,” Deuba told a gathering at the party office in Chipledhunga, Kaski, on Sunday.
The government should either reduce the term of the Local Body Restructuring Commission or hold the elections, the former prime minister said. “But the government is deceiving the people by doing neither.”
In March, the government formed the LBRC led by former government secretary Balananda Paudel to determine the number and borders of Village and Municipal Councils. The commission is mandated to make recommendations within a year of its formation.
Ruling out the possibility of provincial assembly elections without holding the local body elections, Deuba charged that the KP Sharma Oli-led government was only talking about the polls without making preparations. “This raises doubts that the government doesn’t seem serious about implementing the new constitution,” he claimed.
It wouldn’t be possible to implement the constitution just by declaring the federal structure, said Deuba. He claimed that the NC, as the largest and oldest party, was serious about implementing the constitution.
“The Nepali Congress has a huge responsibility to act for the establishment of the democratic republic. It won’t remain a mute spectator,” said Deuba.