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In a change of stance, Nepal's Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has decided not to immediately walk out of the government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who is battling a political crisis following withdrawal of support by CPN-UML.
Rashtriya Swatantra Party ministers had reached Dahal's residence on Thursday to tender their resignations but changed their decision after meeting him. "We went to meet Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal carrying resignation letters. He apprised us that he will exercise his constitutional rights and face the parliament. We also asked him to take the floor test soon and our ministers didn't tender resignation," Santosh Pariyar, chief whip of the party, told ANI over the phone. Pariyar along with four ministers and vice president of RSP went to Dahal's residence to give resignations. Dahal is leading a minority government after his major ally, CPN-UML, walked out of the government on Wednesday. All the eight ministers from the CPN-UML have tendered their resignation to the Prime Minister. Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, two largest parties in the House of Representatives, have forged an alliance to form a new government. In the 275-member house, Nepali Congress has 88 seats, CPN-UML 79, RSP 20 and the Maoist Centre led by Dahal has 32 seats. Taking advantage of a hung parliament, Dahal has been switching sides and garnering support from different political parties. Dahal has ruled out resignation following withdrawal of support by CPN-UML and has to face floor test in 30 days. He has not yet announced the date for seeking vote of confidence in the House of Representatives. PM Dahal already has faced four votes of confidence in the past nearly 20 months. He secured support of 157 members in the vote of confidence in March this year. Dahal was appointed as the Prime Minister by then President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on December 25, 2022, after he showed the support of 169 lawmakers. (ANI)
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