Three former PMs skip all-party meet called by President Bhandari in Nepal

Kathmandu [Nepal], March 16 : Three former Prime Ministers of Nepal on Tuesday skipped an all-party meeting called by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari as the political rift in the Himalayan Nation continues to sore high.
The three former prime ministers namely Baburam Bhattarai, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Jhala Nath Khanal were called to Nepal President's residence, Sheetal Niwas to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country.
However, leaders of other political parties representing in the Parliament took part in the meeting held at Rashtrapati Bhawan which started at around 4 PM (local time).
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Opposition Leader, and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, along with other leaders from the Opposition as well as the ruling party, attended the meeting which is seen as a reconciliation effort by the President to save the incumbent government.
As per an official statement, President Bhandari urged political leaders to give continuity to mutual discussions and dialogue on issues related to day-to-day problems of ordinary citizens such as education, health, economy, drinking water, and climate change.
She recalled calling an all-party meeting after all political parties showed unprecedented national unity to endorse a new political map that includes Kalapani, LipuLekh, and Limpiyadhura.
Highlighting the effects of COVID-19 on the country's economy, education, health, and tourism, she thanked all the frontline workers and political leaders for their contribution to make the government's campaign to tackle COVID-19 a success," the statement said.
Meanwhile, other political leaders present in the meeting including leaders from Maoist Center -- who support the incumbent government -- criticised President Bhandari for failing to act as custodian of the Constitution.
President Bhandari, had on 20 December last year, approved the recommendation of Oli to dissolute Lower House which later was overturned by the Supreme Court. With the apex court's verdict in late February, criticism has risen high against Oli and Bhandari.
According to Chairman of Rastriya Janamorcha, Chitra Bahadur KC, present in the meeting, PM Oli reiterated that there were no other options than to dissolute the Parliament and go for a fresh election.
The meeting called by President Bhandari was attended by Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of Janata Samajbadi Party Mahanta Thakur, and former Chairman of Council of Minister KhilRaj Regm, among others leaders.