Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday announced resignation from his
post in the wake of new political developments after President Ram Baran
Yadav vetoed the government's decision to sack army chief Rookmangud
Katawal.
Dahal made this announcement in his address to the nation at Singh Durbar
this afternoon which came less than 24 hours after two coalition partners
CPN (UML) and Sadbhawana Party pulled out of the government protesting the
government decision.
"I am ready to make any kind of sacrifices needed to protect the
republican set up which is still in its infant stage, and for the sake of
the country," he said in the address, adding that it is not appropriate to
remain in the government when there clearly exist two ruling powers
(executive and President) in the country.
Describing President Yadav's yesterday's move to override the government's
decision to sack the Army chief as "unconstitutional", Dahal said it has
dealt serious blow to democracy, peace process and the newly established
republican order and asked him to rectify his decision.
Saying that a constitutional President has no right to block the decisions
of an elected government, Dahal also accused him of acting under the
provocation of parties.
Clearly referring to key coalition partner CPN-UML and Sadbhavana Party
which pulled out of the government following the government's move, he
said his government was unable to do the kind of work expected from it
because of the tendency of some leaders of the political parties to go
with the government's decision at first but immediately back away from it
after coming under the pressure of the foreign power centers. He said the
same thing happened in the Army chief episode.
He didn't say who were the foreign powers that have been influencing the
decision of the parties, but claimed that "various power centers exercise
their influence in Nepal."
"However, we won't tolerate interference in Nepal's internal affairs," he
said.
Saying that his party was committed to democracy, human rights and press
freedom, Dahal also stressed that political parties need to move ahead in
consensus and cooperation among each others in the coming days. nepalnews.com May 04 09
