Dahal Warns of Charter Threats, Seeks Front Against Government

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party, has warned that Nepal faces severe threats to its constitutional framework, urging progressive forces to forge common ground against the administration led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah. Speaking at a party gathering in Birgunj, Parsa, on Wednesday, the former prime minister signaled plans to pursue tactical cooperation with the CPN-UML to resist what he described as creeping authoritarianism and foreign meddling.

According to reporting by Annapurna Post, Dahal accused the current government of operating under external influence, asserting that Nepal is undergoing its gravest national crisis since the 1816 Sugauli Treaty. Dahal claimed that the administration, emboldened by a two-thirds legislative majority, has targeted vulnerable populations by bulldozing informal settlements, raising tax burdens on small vendors and farmers across the Tarai-Madhes, and carrying out arbitrary arrests. He also characterized the Gen Z uprising of September 2025 as destructive, cautioning that social media algorithms are clouding public perception and obscuring earlier political gains.

Covering the same event, Onlinekhabar reported that Dahal acknowledged tactical shortcomings within Nepal’s communist movement that had weakened its organizational strength. Calling for strategic polarization among leftist groups, Dahal stated that discussions are underway to establish functional unity with the CPN-UML. He underscored that rebuilding political momentum in the Tarai-Madhes remains central to the party's broader political ambitions, while asserting that achievements such as the republican system and the constituent assembly had been secured through joint struggle alongside party co-coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal.

At the gathering, Nepal reiterated the call for leftist consolidation, telling party members that a unified communist movement is vital to establishing a socialist society based on equality, Nagarik News reported. The former prime minister called on cadres to mobilize intensively so the party can secure a decisive victory in upcoming local elections.

The opposition’s warnings coincide with broader institutional concerns regarding the slow implementation of the country's charter. In an interview published by Nagarik News marking the 11th Constitution Day, National Assembly Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal emphasized that political actors have no authority to stray from the constitution’s foundational framework. While noting that the 2015 charter is adaptable through parliamentary processes, Chairman Dahal maintained that principles such as federalism, republicanism, secularism, and proportional representation must remain untouched.

The assembly chairman also expressed concern over legislative gridlock, observing that although the executive pledged to advance 166 designated bills, key legislation covering the federal civil service, school education, and provincial policing remains stalled. He urged the government to provide parliament with steady legislative business to prevent statutory paralysis.