Speaking to reporters on Friday, Prime Minister Karki appealed to everyone to cooperate, arguing that she was focused on holding elections and prioritizing good governance rather than banning parties or making them nonexistent.
What you should know
Interim government Prime Minister Sushila Karki has said that she is in favor of transferring power by holding elections on 21 Falgun, not by banning parties, but by involving them and encouraging their enthusiastic participation.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Prime Minister Karki argued that the focus is on holding elections rather than banning parties or making them non-existent and that the priority is to maintain good governance.
‘There is no intention to ban parties.’ The government has been talking to parties through various channels since the very beginning. In the beginning, when talking to parties, we had to face the anger of the gen-ji.’ I have also raised the slogan of bringing our murderers,’ Karki said. ‘That is why discussions were held with the parties through the President and I myself have called an all-party discussion including the parties.’
She said that the government also has its own difficulties. She recounted an incident where the gen-ji raised slogans demanding that she resign immediately after becoming Prime Minister, and said, ‘Will you not accept UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and the then Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak?’ Jen-G expressed her anger. She said that she took the lead in a difficult situation, but she was not afraid of criticism, but she had to bear a lot of pressure.
‘The government has done something. We are meeting with the Election Commission, the parties and Jen-G and discussing continuously,’ Karki said. ‘Now that the interim government is formed, other doubts have been removed. I have seen a positive atmosphere towards the election.’ She said that she was also very uncomfortable. She admitted that it was not easy because she had to listen to everyone, from Jen-G, the injured and deceased families of the movement, to the party. She said that she had come as a court judge, but she did not have the same experience in politics and the same experience as the party leaders. ‘We are not people who have been refined in politics. We have not learned as much as the party leaders,’ she said. ‘There have also been criticisms. But I am not a person who is affected by criticism.'
She said that the Prime Minister accepted the resignation because there was a lot of damage during the 23rd and 24th Bhadra protests and the country was facing a terrible situation. Karki claimed that she is trying to play the role of a facilitator for all Gen-G, political parties and the government.
She said that she does not know how many Gen-G groups there are and that there is a problem when demands and names come one after another. 'One group comes. Our demands are under the constitution. Another group comes and says that there should be a direct executive. Another group comes. Corruption and when will those who suppressed the 23rd protest be arrested,' Prime Minister Karki said, 'The government does not have time due to work and a lot of time has been spent on reconciling and addressing the demands of various Gen-G groups.' She said that she has high expectations from the government and that the most challenging thing is to control corruption. She claimed that corruption has increased but the process of cases is protracted, so it will take time. She also said that she was very confused about the expansion of the cabinet. She said that the current ministers are people accepted by everyone, but it is difficult to get a name from the gen-ji. ‘One comes, gives a name. Another comes overnight and says it is not possible,’ Karki said, ‘One group says that the same person is needed, not a change. Another group comes and cuts the whip again and leaves. ’
She said that this is also why it took her time to complete the cabinet. She also admitted that it was a mistake in the case of Khagendra Sunar, who was named as the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security. She said that she knew that he would do social work, but she backed out after news started coming online about how many cases there were soon after the recommendation was discussed.
Similarly, she claimed that the same thing happened in the case of Bablu Gupta. When the Prime Minister asked the minister whether he would contest the election, when Prime Minister Sushila Karki met with journalists on Friday evening, ministers Rameshwor Khanal, Omprakash Aryal, Kulman Ghising, Anil Sinha, and Jagdish Kharel were also present in Baluwatar.
Prime Minister Karki said that they were not planning to contest the election, but rather would take leave after holding a successful election. She also asked her ministers the same thing. ‘I will not contest, will you contest the election?’ Karki asked looking at the ministers, ‘Rameshworji says he will not contest, will Kulmanji contest?’ Prime Minister Karki informed that a promise of 700 vehicles has been received from neighboring countries for the election and preparations are being made to buy non-lethal weapons.
Stating that it is natural to have high expectations from the government and that everyone should listen to what Gen-G has to say, she expressed her commitment not to back down from establishing the rule of law.
Defending the decision to recall ambassadors In the same discussion, a question arose as to why the government, which was given the responsibility of holding elections, decided to recall the ambassadors.
In response, Prime Minister Karki defended the decision to recall the ambassadors after they were involved in financial irregularities and raised questions about the very existence of the government. She claimed that she had not recalled the ambassadors of all countries and that the decision was taken only in the case of those about whom complaints and questions were raised.
