Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has stated that his relationship with CPN-UML broke down after it did not agree to his proposal to forge a national consensus on the President and Vice President.
During his trust vote in parliament on Monday, Dahal said the entire country was shaken after the sensitive issue of dissolution of the parliament was raised on the first day of the parliament. “That was neither relevant nor contextual. That step which caused a big constitutional and political crisis in the country was not a matter of pride,” Dahal said. “The blatant defense of the decision to dissolve parliament was a big moral, constitutional and political challenge to the prime minister who received the vote of confidence from almost the entire parliament.”
He was referring to former Prime Minister and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli’s move to defend his decision to dissolve parliament. Dahal, however, did not mention Oli.
Dahal also emphasized that he was committed to implementing agreements with other parties and would always seek to forge national consensus.
“I was in discussions with parties outside of parliament to reach a national consensus. However, on the very first day of parliament, the issue of dissolving parliament was raised. As it raised questions about the stability of the coalition, I needed to reach a national consensus to address the crises facing the country, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Dahal also revealed that he had proposed that the presidential post be given to the Nepali Congress, as it was the largest party in parliament. “However, we could not reach a consensus,” he added. “There was nothing wrong with my initiative as Prime Minister.”
