Oli calls upon Nepal parties to form all-party govt

Embattled Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Friday urged all political parties to form an all-party government and hold fresh elections, as he tried to justify the controversial dissolution of the House of Representatives twice by the President, saying a "functionless" Parliament turned out to be the main source of instability in the country. "Going for an election can never be a regressive act," Oli said in a televised address to the nation, a week after the House was dissolved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

The president dissolved the 275member House of Representatives on Saturday for the second time in five months and announced snap elections on November 12 and November 19 on the advice of Prime

Minister Oli, who is heading a minority government. Oli, 69, called upon the political parties to form an all-party government and hold elections, My Republica.com portal quoted him as saying.

Addressing the nation as the chief executive of the country, Oli took most of his time to criticise the moves taken by the Opposition parties and his fellow party leaders.

He blamed the Opposition parties and dissident faction of the ruling CPN-UML for the dissolution of Parliament.

He blamed his party's rival group for blocking his attempts to consolidate democracy and to take the nation to the path of socio-economic transformation.

Oli said Parliament could not ensure stability in the country even after it was restored on February 23 through judicial intervention. "Though it was reinstated through the Supreme Court's verdict, it turned out to be functionless and the main source of instability in the country," said Oli.

He claimed that he tried to prevent the lower house of Parliament from being dissolved. "I made my last ditch effort to form an alternative government as per Article 76 (5) after being assured of support from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP).