Congress and UML Agree to Maintain Provincial Alliances and Oppose Ordinances

Kathmandu. An agreement has been reached between the main opposition party Nepali Congress and the opposition party CPN-UML to maintain the current alliance in provincial governments. Similarly, the two parties have agreed to jointly raise the issue of repealing the ordinances brought by the government. They will proceed together on this matter in both the streets and the parliament.

For this, Congress Vice-President Bishwaprakash Sharma and UML Vice-Chairman Bishnu Paudel and General Secretary Shankar Pokharel had done informal groundwork. Following informal groundwork, on Tuesday evening, Congress Vice-President Bishwaprakash Sharma and Joint General Secretary Uday Shumsher Rana went to Oli's residence in Gundu to meet CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. Prior to that, Congress President Gagan Thapa had also spoken with UML Chairman Oli.

A political agreement has been reached after discussions between the top and second-tier leaders of Congress and UML. Joint General Secretary Rana, who participated in Tuesday's discussion, informed that a political agreement has been reached with UML regarding the current alliance governments in the provinces and the ordinances brought by the federal government.

प्रदेश सरकार फेरबदलबारे गुण्डुमा छलफल

'Currently, there are alliance governments of Congress and UML in the provinces. An agreement has been reached to maintain the cooperation of Congress and UML in the alliance governments in the provinces,' Joint General Secretary Rana told Ratopati. 'The current governments will remain in some provinces. If the leadership and ministers need to be changed in some, it will be done with the agreement and cooperation of the leadership of the two parties in the provinces and the central leadership.'

UML Vice-Chairman Bishnu Paudel stated that he also participated in a discussion with Congress leaders regarding provincial governments and ordinances. 'Leaders of UML, including myself, sat in discussions with Congress leaders. After that, our party chairman has already discussed these matters with the Congress president and other leaders,' Paudel told Ratopati. He added that he was not aware of the latest updates.

CPN-UML Press Coordinator Min Bahadur Shahi informed that an agreement has been reached to move forward by maintaining the old agreements and understandings between Congress and UML. He told Ratopati, 'The Congress-UML alliance will continue in the provincial governments.' He stated that whether the leadership and ministers would remain the same or be changed would be determined through discussions between the two parties.

Joint General Secretary Rana said that an understanding has been reached to continue the 7-point agreement made between the top leadership of Congress and UML during the previous parliamentary term in the context of provincial governments. A 7-point agreement was made between then Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML Chairman Oli on Jestha 17, 081. Clause number 7 of the agreement states, 'To form and operate provincial governments in line with the spirit of a national consensus government and to accelerate development work in provinces and local levels according to public sentiment.'

Joint General Secretary Rana said that it will be decided by the agreement of the top leaders of the center and provinces of the two parties which provinces will retain their current leadership and which will have changes. According to sources close to the parties, both parties are preparing to maintain the current leadership in the Koshi and Sudurpashchim provincial governments and make changes in the rest. In Koshi Province, UML leader Hikmat Karki is the Chief Minister, and in Sudurpashchim Province, Congress leader Kamal Shah is the Chief Minister.

Protesting Ordinances Unitedly

The two parties have agreed to jointly protest the 8 ordinances brought by the government led by National Independent Party senior leader Balen Shah. Congress has already registered a petition at the Federal Parliament Secretariat to repeal the Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights and Procedures) (First Amendment) Ordinance 2083 and the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Laws 2083 brought by the current government. UML has registered a petition to repeal all 8 ordinances. Joint General Secretary Rana informed that both parties have agreed to move forward on the same front regarding this matter.

'Congress's main objective is not to let the Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights and Procedures) (First Amendment) Ordinance 2083 and the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Laws 2083, which includes the abolition of employee trade unions, succeed,' Rana said. 'There is a political agreement with UML on this. Congress and UML will move forward together.'

According to the ordinance, the leader of the Congress parliamentary party, Bhishma Raj Angdembe, who is a member of the council in his capacity as the leader of the main opposition party, has already registered a written dissent regarding the Constitutional Council's recommendation for the appointment of the Chief Justice. The council meeting, as per that ordinance, recommended Dr. Manoj Sharma, a judge of the Supreme Court, who is fourth in line, for the appointment of Chief Justice.

UML leader Shahi said that their demand is for the ordinances brought by the Balen government to be repealed, and they will move forward in cooperation with Congress on this matter. He stated that UML has already registered a notice for repeal in the National Assembly with the agreement of Congress.

'Ordinances have been introduced with provisions that will have long-term effects. There can be no support for those ordinances. Congress is also against the ordinances,' Shahi said. 'We have registered a notice for repeal. I understand that Congress also supports this.'

Mainly, opposition parties including Congress and UML, Nepali Communist Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Shram Sanskriti Party are dissatisfied with the provision in the Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights and Procedures) (First Amendment) Ordinance 2083, brought by the six-member Constitutional Council, which considers 3 members as a majority. The ordinance provides for the Prime Minister, who chairs the council, to have a vote of 1 plus 1, making it two votes. The opposition has expressed dissatisfaction with this.

Narayana Prasad Dahal, who became a member of the National Assembly on the recommendation of the Nepali Communist Party and is currently the Chairman of the National Assembly, had also registered a written dissent regarding the council's decision to recommend the appointment of the Chief Justice based on that provision of the ordinance.