NEFIN to hit the streets against CJ-led govt; Ashok Rai says parties awarding Regmi for his role in CA dissolution

The Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) has asked its affiliate organisations to protest against the preparations to install an election government headed by the Chief Justice.

Issuing a press statement Monday, NEFIN president Raj Kumar Lekhi asked the district and area committees of the federation to launch street protests against the idea of CJ-led government.

Holding the judiciary under CJ Khil Raj Regmi's leadership responsible for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, he said a CJ-led government will be against the norms of democracy and separation of power. "The federation believes that the selection of the sitting Chief Justice by the so-called four political forces to head the election government is part of some conspiracy," he said.

Meanwhile, chairman of Federal Socialist Party, Ashok Rai, on Monday claimed that the four major political parties decided to award the post of prime minister to serving Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi for the latter’s role that led to the untimely demise of the Constituent Assembly without promulgating the constitution.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the Rupandehi chapter of Association of Nepal Indigenous Journalists (ANIJ) in Butwal, Rai accused the four major parties - NC, UML,UCPN (Maoist) and UDMF – of displaying their incompetence as political parties by handing over the post of prime minister as a gift to a person whose decision to issue an interim stay order against the government’s proposal to amend the interim constitution and extend the term of the CA led to the demise of the constitution drafting body.

Rai, who was the former vice chairman of CPN (UML) before leaving the party protesting its stance against identity-based federalism and creation of ethnic states, also said there is little possibility that the new CJ-led election government will be able to hold fresh CA polls.

Saying that even if the new government manages to carry out the election “it won’t be free and fair”, Rai made it clear that his party will still contest in the polls and forge a working unity with the forces in favour of identity-based federalism. Nepalnews.com