Rama Krishna Sangem
Nepal protesters are divided over who should head the next government. Though on September 10, Wednesday it appeared that they had almost agreed on former chief justice and writer Sushila Karki, there were difference on her choice and some more news names have come up. It appears some time or days it may take to zero in on the new leader. Age is a disadvantageous factor for Sushila who is 73, sources say. So search is on for a younger leader.
A group of Gen Z protesters on Thursday proposed former Nepal Electricity Authority Executive Chief Kulman Ghising as the new head of the interim government. The group opposed the nomination of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki, arguing that her appointment would make it difficult to reach a consensus, signalling a rift within the protesters.
The representatives of the protesting ‘Gen Z’ group, Nepalese President Ramchandra Paudel and Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel held talks at the army headquarters in Bhadrakali on Thursday to pick an interim leader, as per a PTI report.
An Army spokesperson confirmed that discussions were underway with various stakeholders. “We are holding rounds of talks with different stakeholders. The talks are mainly focused on finding a way out from the current stalemate and at the same time maintaining law and order situation in the country,” the Army spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Sushila not yet invited to form government
Sources close to former Nepal Chief Justice Sushila Karki told India Today that neither the President nor Gen Z protesters have formally invited Sushila Karki to take charge as the interim head of the government. Till late hours on Wednesday, all groups of protesters have hinted that she is the choice of majority of them.
Earlier, thousands of Gen Z supporters had voted in favour of Karki for the post. However, the group alleged that the constitution bars former Chief Justices from becoming prime minister. Another popular candidate, Balendra Shah, has also declined interest.
In a statement, the Gen Z group said Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Sah was the most qualified candidate for the post, but he declined to accept it. The discussions then shifted to former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, whose candidacy was disqualified as former chief justices and judges are ineligible for appointment as prime minister.
“Since Balendra Shah has not shown interest, Hark Sampang (mayor of Dharan Municipality) has little chance of leading everyone, and Sushila Karki is incompetent and over 70 years of age, it has been decided to send Engineer Kulman Ghising, a patriotic person who is loved by everyone, to lead the interim government,” the statement said.
Ghising, 54, is widely known for ending the country’s long-standing power outage crisis, which had subjected the nation to power cuts of up to 18 hours per day for decades. He studied electrical engineering on a full scholarship at the Regional Institute of Technology in Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur
Now the situation indicates that it would take a couple of more days to come to a conclusion on the new prime minister or caretaker PM for Nepal.
