Koirala claims people want PM Dahal's alternative
A day after accusing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of having "failed the nation" due to his divided loyalty towards the Maoist combatants and the Nepal Army, Nepali congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has claimed that the general public has started looking for an alternative to PM Dahal.
Speaking to reporters Sunday morning before flying back to Kathmandu from his hometown Biratnagar where he went Saturday for rest, Koirala said that his successor to the post of prime minister is being forced to the corner by the present situation.
In a usual tone, the NC strongman said that since the Maoist-led government is pushing the country towards totalitarianism by bringing ordinances the alternative to the prime minister is being sought. He also advised the government to stop running the country through ordinances, adding that the Maoist government is becoming weak also because it has repeatedly attacked (interfered) in all sectors.
Hinting at a possible change in the government led by UML, Koirala said that no matter who replaces PM Dahal - be it (senior UML leader) "Madhav ji (Madhav Kumar Nepal or whoever" - the country needs someone who can give the much deserved leadership to the country.
The political atmosphere is expected to heat up after the former prime minister is back in the capital as his party, which has stood resolutely against the ordinances brought by the government - has intensified discussion with other political parties to call up a special session of the legislative-parliament.
Koirala has a habit of taking a brief sojourn to his hometown Biratnagar to hatch a deft political maneuver.
Meanwhile, another former prime minister and senior NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba lambasted at the Unified CPN (Maoists) for not heeding the advice of his party, predicting that its days were now numbered.
The NC stalwart, who was speaking at a program in Pokhara today, said that in the past "despotic kings" had perished because they didn't heed NC's advice and that he won't be surprised if the Maoists suffered the same fate. nepalnews.com ag Feb 08 09
