Koshi CM holds talks with opposition to facilitate PM Oli's address

Biratnagar, March 11 — To facilitate Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's address to the Koshi Provincial Assembly, Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki held discussions with opposition parties.

Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to address the provincial assembly meeting, which will take place after 2 PM on Tuesday.

After opposition parties expressed concerns about their potential absence during the address, Chief Minister Karki engaged in discussions with the leader of the Maoist parliamentary party, Indra Bahadur Angbo.

The two-party discussion, held at Big Hotel in Biratnagar, was reported to be positive by Chief Minister Karki.

"We cleared up some misinformation regarding the functioning of the Parliament. Now, there will be no obstruction in the provincial assembly. Everyone will be present," Karki said.

"The Prime Minister is an institution. There should be no obstruction when he arrives. The UML, Congress, and Maoists have a long practice of understanding this system, so there will be no problems," he claimed.

He also mentioned that political disagreements at the center should not be displayed at the provincial level.

"We don't need to delve much into the issues between KP Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Prachanda. As provincial chief ministers and party leaders, we should not drag the disputes between the central leaders into our provincial discussions," he added.

Meanwhile, responding after the discussions, Maoist leader Angbo explained that the Chief Minister had tried to assure that the Prime Minister would speak institutionally, without causing any disruptions, and that the failure to formally invite opposition parties was an oversight. 

"The Chief Minister assured that the Prime Minister would speak in an institutional manner and avoid any disruptions. He also acknowledged that failing to formally invite the opposition parties was a mistake. Now, we will hold a meeting with the opposition parties to make further decisions," Angbo said.

Opposition parties, including the Maoist Center, Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, and CPN (Unified Socialist), had entrusted Angbo with leading the discussions with Chief Minister Karki.

During the meeting, Chief Minister Karki suggested a cooperative approach.

Angbo stated that the opposition parties would jointly meet and finalize the next steps based on the outcome of the discussions with the Chief Minister.