National
Thakur rejects Deuba’s request to stand by govt
Mahantha Thakur, a key leader of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha, has rejected the request of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba not to sever ties with the governing coalition.Mahantha Thakur, a key leader of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha, has rejected the request of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba not to sever ties with the governing coalition.
In a meeting held at his residence in Budhanilkantha on Sunday, Deuba urged Thakur to reconsider the decision for the sake of giving the country an outlet by holding the elections.
Thakur, chairman of the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party, reiterated the Madhes-based parties’ position that amendment to the constitution was their bottom line. He also voiced the regional parties’ dissatisfaction with local level restructuring.
A meeting of the ruling NC’s office bearers, former office bearers and leaders representing the Madhes on Saturday decided to urge the Morcha not to withdraw its support to the government.
During the meeting held at the NC Parliamentary Party office in Singha Durbar on Saturday, party leaders from the Tarai had claimed that holding the polls would be difficult without constitutional amendments and that the Morcha should not be left behind.
Thakur urged the Congress to put the local polls scheduled for May 14 on hold and focus on amending the constitution. On the Saptari clash of Monday in which five people died ultimately, Thakur said the protests in Rajbiraj were not organised by the Morcha; irate people had gathered voluntarily to protest the CPN-UML’s electoral campaign.
“Violence is no solution. It will only lead the country towards a dangerous situation. The Rajbiraj incident took place due to the resentment of the people, which the Morcha cannot control,” he remarked.
Deuba responded that his party was working to take the amendment proposal tabled in Parliament to a logical conclusion.
NC lawmaker Farmullah Mansur, who was present in the meeting alongside Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi, said Deuba requested Thakur to help the government by reversing its decision to withdraw its support.