Nepal: Prachanda’s alleged comments towards an Indian businessman have increased calls for his resignation

The Opposition has called for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to resign after his comments that an Indian businessman “once made efforts” to make him the premier caused a stir in the Himalayan nation, and the House of Representatives meeting that was scheduled for Sunday has been postponed until Monday.

The Parliament Secretariat said in a notification that the meeting scheduled for Sunday had been postponed till 3 p.m. on Monday owing to extraordinary circumstances. The meeting on Sunday was postponed for 3 pm at the request of Prime Minister “Prachanda.” However, due to technical difficulties, the meeting had to be postponed, according to officials in the Parliamentary secretariat.

Early in the day, an agreement was struck to break the impasse between Nepal’s three main parties: the opposition CPN-UML, the Nepali Congress, and the government CPN (Maoist Centre). The House session will continue on Sunday, according to a prior agreement made by Prachanda, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli.

Due to the prime minister’s divisive statements, the opposition parties, especially the UML, have been impeding business in both chambers for the last several days.

On July 3, at a book launch event, Prachanda said that Sardar Pritam Singh, a pioneering trucking businessman in Nepal, had significantly improved ties between India and Nepal.

Prachanda said, “He (Singh) had previously attempted to make me the prime minister. To appoint me as prime minister, he made many trips to Delhi and undertook numerous rounds of negotiations with Kathmandu’s political elite, according to Prachanda.

The comments sparked a political uproar and drew condemnation from a variety of sources. He has being requested to resign by the opposition. But according to a close Prachanda aide, the prime minister won’t step down.