Nepali Congress mulling over remaining in government

Kathmandu, Apr.15 : Central leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress are mulling over the issue remaining in government, or giving preference to drafting a "democratic Constitution" and take the ongoing peace process to its "logical conclusion".

Addressing a press conference in Biratnagar on Tuesday, Nepali Congress leaders said the party would decide whether to stay in the government or not after the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the party.

Senior party leader Mahesh Acharya who suffered an embarrassing loss from the Morang Constituency-6 said that only after the seven parties undertake an internal assessment of the election process and its outcome, would a new government be formed.

Acharya also confirmed that the party would be taking action against those party cadres that had helped others during the election.

NC leader Amod Upadhyaya said that since the mandate of the election is to draft a new Constitution, it was futile to discuss which party had won how many seats.

Dr Shekhar Koirala said the party had suffered a humiliating defeat as the "people had voted mainly on the basis of ethnicity".

Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has expressed its commitment to work under the direction of an elected government, whoever comes to power.

The army representative in Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC) Shiva Pradhan is learnt to have said so during the meeting of the JMCC held Tuesday in the capital.

Stating that the army has traditionally followed the orders of the legitimate government, Pradhan said the Nepal Army would work in cooperation with the government.

It is the first meeting of JMCC held after the constituent assembly elections. Representatives from NA, People's Liberation Army and United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) briefly discussed the election process and post-election scenario.

ANI