No alternative to a democratic republic: PM Dahal

 Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said that there is no alternative to a democratic republic in Nepal, while describing the anti-democracy voices as meaningless.

In an interaction with the editors at the Prime Minister's Office, Singh Durbar today, the Prime Minister said democratic republic is the system adopted by the world and also chosen by the Nepali people in Nepal. "Hence, there is no other alternative to it."

Referring to the recent demonstrations being carried out by raising questions over the constitution, democracy and the republic, he said that there is no reason or ground for such voices and that the government and pro-republican political parties were unanimous in further consolidating the foundations of the republic.

"It seems efforts are being made to maneuver in the pretext of former monarchists. But no one has the freedom to go against the current constitution obtained from the sacrifices of the Nepali people. If some try to do so then the political parties who strived establish Nepal as a republic have the necessary strategy to 'tackle' them."

Stating that the recent activities targeted at religion are also under the notice of the government, he made it clear that there will be no deviation from what is written in the constitution. The constitution clearly stipulates the protection of the religion and culture of every Nepali citizen, while the state remains secular.

The Prime Minister said, "On this matter, the Nepali Congress and the main opposition party CPN (UML) are also committed to what is written in the constitution and the government is also clear about it. Therefore, there is no point in the slogans of declaring a Hindu state."

Ruling coalition will not break up

On a different note, Prime Minister Dahal also said that the ruling alliance of the political parties in the current government will not be broken. "The alliance of the ruling parties will continue even though questions are being raised about the possibility of a break up in the alliance of the ruling parties."

The government is not in a crisis and this ruling coalition will complete its full term. "I know that I have 32 seats in Parliament and hence not strong in terms of parliamentary calculation. But I am lucky, because this alliance will not break up now or in the immediate future."

TikTok can be regulated

Prime Minister Dahal said that voices has been raised from multiple sides to suspend the social networking site TikTok and added that the government has no intention to block it permanently. "A bill on social networking site is coming (in parliament). The provisions of regulation can be included in it," according to the PM.

Saying that there is nothing that cannot be regulated, the Prime Minister rather urged all to share the feedback regarding the ways to put effective regulatory provisions to that end.

Prime Minister Dahal shared that he has learned that majority of the citizens are happy with the decision to suspend TikTok. "I have heard of concerns of whether the government has stood against the freedom of speech and expression. This is totally false. We are for safeguarding citizens' all sorts of rights," the Prime Minister noted.

Likewise, the Prime Minister said that the government has focused its activities in resolving the economic crisis the country is facing. "I am confident that the country will advance in a smooth manner if we bring about reforms in economy with a big push on economic agendas. For this, we have been repeatedly holding talks with the private sector and stakeholders," Dahal said.

On the occasion, he also shared that the government is preparing to conduct a national-level consultation soon.

The Prime Minister said that he was preparing for a serious review to confirm why the businesses have pulled down the shutters and why there has been a limited business environment though the economic indicators look good, tourism arrival has increased and remittance inflow is fine.

Likewise, Prime Minister Prachanda shared that the government has made several decisions on microfinance and cooperatives related policies, bank's interest rate and economic packages to the business community.

During the meeting with the journalists, the Prime Minister said that the COP-28 ongoing in the United Arab Emirates has seen several debates on issues related to Nepal.

The Prime Minister shared that advocacy of the climate change impacts on Nepal by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was fortunate for us. He believed that Nepal would get justice as we have to become more resilient to the climate change impacts.

Saying that there has been sufficient deliberation for the first time on Nepal in the COP-28, the Prime Minister added that a strength has been achieved regarding the assistance that Nepal should get.

The Prime Minister also shared that he has asked the line agencies and stakeholders to follow up this issue as the world community has been briefed about the rights Nepal should get for the climate change impacts mitigation.

Government assures Bipin Joshi's release

During a query from the editors' in regard with the status of Bipin Joshi presently held captive by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, in Israel, the Prime Minister said that the government has been assured of his release.

Nepal has appealed to Qatar that facilitated the ceasefire in Israel to take initiatives to bring him safely back to home, the Prime Minister said, "The government will take all possible measures to secure his release and is assured that he would be freed based on our appeal. The government had also been consistently urging the Israeli Government for the release of Joshi."

Similarly, he said reports about the recruitments of Nepali youths in the army force in Russia and Ukraine have prompted the government to notify the respective countries that Nepal has no policy of sending its citizens to serve in foreign military forces. Similarly, the bodies concerned have launched an awareness aiming to discourage Nepali youths from joining the military forces in Russia and Ukraine.

Govt to study reported Ncell sale issues

The Prime Minister said the government would study and investigate further regarding the recent reports about the sale of shares of Ncell, the private telecommunications service provider based in Nepal.

Citing that the government led by himself in the past ensured the collection of a significant amount of revenue in the form of capital gain tax from the company, he said a deal about the sale and purchase of the company sharse could not be validated without the involvement of the government and relevant bodies. "We have reports that the Company's property worth around 130 billion rupees is being sold at just five-six billion."

"At the moment, I just wanted to tell that I have talked to the Chief Secretary on the matter today and the sale-purchase process will be suspended for the time being," he said.

Nepal's reputation has increased with foreign visits

Prime Minister Dahal stated that Nepal's reputation has been enhanced by the visits of the incumbent government to the USA, India and China in less than a year of its formation as well as Nepal's presence in the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Conference COP28.

Stating that important agreements were inked with India and China in the interest of Nepal during his official visits to the neighbouring countries, the Head of the Government shared that he had been instructing the concerned Nepalis authorities to work in the manner for the Nepal to get benefitted from those agreements.

According to him, he was trying to implement the power agreement with India and the Pancheshwor Project in the best interest of Nepal.

On a different note, Dahal said that he was holding diplomatic talks with India to implement the new political map of Nepal that was unanimously endorsed by the country's parliament and maintain the Nepali territory according to the map. "The resolution of this matter is possible only through bilateral talks. I had held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during my India visit. He is also positive about resolving the issue through a dialogue", the Prime Minister said.

Likewise, the incumbent government has delivered in favor of good-governance and the public. According to him, the incumbent government took the initiative to formulate law regarding citizenship act and devised acts against loan sharks.

Similarly, he claimed that investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam and Lalita Niwas land grab scam and action against other land mafia among others were spearheaded by the incumbent government's commitment against corruption.