Nepali Congress Ministers Halt Resignation in Koshi Province Amidst Coalition Talks

Biratnagar. It has been revealed that the resignation of Nepali Congress ministers participating in the Koshi Province government has been stopped for now at the request of Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki. The Nepali Congress, which was preparing to form a provincial government according to the three-point agreement between the CPN (UML) and the CPN (Maoist Centre), had submitted resignation letters from 4 ministers and 1 state minister in the cabinet meeting last Friday. 'The Congress ministers had come with resignation letters,' said a source from the Chief Minister's office. 'The Chief Minister requested them to stop their resignation for the time being as an agreement on ministry allocation and other issues with the CPN (Maoist Centre) has not yet been reached. After that, their resignation was stopped.' Gopal Tamang, Chief Whip of the Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party, said that it seemed like the resignation was stopped at the request of Chief Minister Karki himself. 'It seems to me that the Chief Minister has stopped the resignation,' he said. 'I also heard that they were going to resign today.' A Nepali Congress MP, however, said that there was no need to remain in the ministry out of greed for power. 'I heard they were going to resign today. But perhaps they think they won't leave even for a day due to greed for power,' the MP said. 'I understand that the party leader has already asked them to resign.' Meanwhile, a source from the Chief Minister's office claimed that the Congress ministers would resign by Tuesday. 'They had come with resignation letters last Friday. It was stopped for the time being. After an agreement on ministry allocation with the CPN (Maoist Centre) today, the Congress ministers will likely resign on Tuesday,' the source said. A CPN (UML) MP, however, said that the delay was due to the strict conditions set by the CPN (Maoist Centre) to join the government. 'The CPN (Maoist Centre) has raised the issue of renaming the province. How can the name be renamed again when it has already been passed? Such strict conditions have also extended the tenure of the Congress ministers,' the MP said. Another CPN (UML) MP, Reoti Raman Bhandari, however, said that it might take another week for the CPN (Maoist Centre) to join the government. 'It may take a week for the CPN (Maoist Centre) to join the government. Until then, the Congress ministers may remain,' Bhandari said. Meanwhile, as part of the government expansion preparations, in the first phase of discussions held last Friday, the CPN (Maoist Centre) had demanded that the ministry allocation should be in the same capacity as the Congress currently holds. Indra Bahadur Angbo, leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre) Parliamentary Party, said that his party should get ministries in the same number as the Congress is currently holding. 'Discussions on ministry allocation have not even started yet. But in informal talks, we have said that we will join the government with the same capacity as the Congress, otherwise we will not,' Angbo said. The CPN (Maoist Centre) has claimed four ministries currently held by the Nepali Congress in the province: Physical Infrastructure, Tourism, Agriculture, and Health. The process of the Nepali Congress exiting the provincial government and the CPN (Maoist Centre) joining the government, in accordance with the three-point agreement reached at the center, has reached its final stage. Angbo said that an agreement could be reached in the discussion between the two parties today. The meeting has been called for three o'clock this afternoon. According to Sherdhan Rai, Secretary and Koshi Province In-charge of the CPN (UML), the two parties have agreed to share power within the existing ministries without increasing the number of ministries according to the new coalition. The CPN (UML) has stated that it will give 3 ministries to the CPN (Maoist Centre) based on the number of MPs. There are 40 MPs from the CPN (UML) and 17 from the CPN (Maoist Centre) in the Provincial Assembly. According to UML In-charge Rai, if an agreement is not reached on 3 ministries, the CPN (UML) has a strategy to appease them by giving one more state minister. 'We are not in favor of increasing the number of ministries. Power sharing will be in the ratio of 6-4 or 6-3 within the existing ministries,' Rai said. 'The distribution will be respectable and logical based on arithmetic. On Monday, both parties will hold another formal meeting to finalize the ministry allocation and the draft of the common minimum program.' The CPN (Maoist Centre) has also been demanding agreement on issues such as the formation of a common minimum program for the government, review of the budget, respectful power sharing, passage of bills of public concern including the Language Bill and the Dalit Bill, and renaming of the province. The CPN (UML), on the other hand, has agreed to form a new common minimum program for the government, review the budget, and discuss and finalize the issue of power sharing, ministry allocation, and subsequent political appointments. The CPN (UML) will consult with the central leadership regarding the issue of renaming the province.