Nepal PM K P Sharma Oli blames ruling party leaders tried to form parallel government

Defending his move to dissolve the House of Representatives, Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has blamed some leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) for attempting to form a "parallel government".

Oli made the comments while highlighting the major achievements of the government during his address from the prime minister’s office in Singha Durbar on the occasion of the third anniversary of the government on Monday.

Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 after Oli, in a surprise move, dissolved the House of Representatives, amidst a tussle for power with his rival Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. His move to dissolve the 275-member House sparked protests from a large section of the NCP led by Prachanda, also a co-chair of the ruling party.

The Prachanda-led faction has been holding anti-government protest rallies and public gatherings in various parts of the country, including Kathmandu.

Both Prachanda and the rival Oli group claim to control the Nepal Communist Party and the issue is being disputed at the Election Commission.

Oli said that his government had been facing obstacles similar to that of a coalition government for the past one year.

Blaming his own party colleagues, he defended his move to dissolve the House, saying that some leaders of the party attempted to form a "parallel government".

Oli also blamed the rival faction of the party for obstructing the process of the endorsement of various bills, recommendations for the vacant position in various constitutional bodies and hearing in parliament.

“Such an inappropriate act was purely an exercise of a parallel government,” he said.

On the occasion, Oli mentioned the implementation of constitution and federalism; putting in place the necessary policies and legal arrangements and the encouraging overall economic situation in the country as his government’s major achievements.

The government has achieved rapid progress in the post-earthquake reconstruction; and the encouraging progress made in the education, health and social security sectors, Oli said.

The prime minister said that the size of public spending has increased nearly 29 per cent and the size of the public budget too has grown by 186 per cent. The per capita income has increased by 23.6 per cent to 1,097 USD. More than 900,000 people have been taken out of absolute poverty.

“If there weren't COVID-19, this number would cross 1.5 million," he said.

He said the UN Human Development Report shows that the Human Development Index has increased by more than five percentage points, poverty has not increased and there is no hunger in Nepal.

He added that 559,461 private houses damaged by the 2015 earthquake have been rebuilt and that 95 per cent of the quake-damaged government buildings have already been reconstructed.

Oli had earlier said he was forced to dissolve the House after knowing that the Prachanda-led faction was planning to file a no-confidence motion against him and introduce an impeachment motion against President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

Oli-led CPN-UML and Prachanda-led NCP (Maoist Centre) merged in May 2018 to form a unified Nepal Communist Party following victory of their alliance in the 2017 general elections.

The Prachanda-led faction, which is currently launching agitation to get official recognition from the Election Commission as the legitimate NCP, held a massive rally last week in a bid to show its strength.