Amid growing demand for Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba's resignation following the party's "humiliating" poll defeat, senior leader Prakash Man Singh today said top leadership should quit if the party lost elections.
Without naming Deuba, he also said the party chief should take the responsibility for such a "humiliating" defeat.
The Nepali Congress (NC)had emerged as the largest party in the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections by winning 105 seats under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.
It faced a humiliating defeat in this historic parliamentary and provincial assembly polls by winning just 23 seats out of a total 165 seats under FPTP.
An alliance of left parties -- the CPN-UML and the CPM- Maoist Centre -- has won a total of 116 seats.
Following the stinging defeat in parliamentary and provincial elections, demands are being raised within the NC for resignation of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and handing over of the helm of the grand old party to a new leader.
"There is a practice in democratic countries that the leadership should resign from the key post if the party loses election," Singh said, addressing a programme organised here.
"The NC, which had played a lead role in promulgating the Constitution as well as implementing it by conducting elections, should not have faced such a defeat without the weakness of the leadership," he said.
"If the leadership does not resign, then we will take measures, whatever we can, under the party's legal framework," the former Deputy Prime Minister said, in an apparent reference to the convening of a special assembly in case of any emergency situation to discuss the matter.
Singh also said that the NC will accept the people's verdict and sit in the opposition and "play the role of a constructive opposition".
He also said that the NC would not tolerate any effort to impose authoritarian rule, by the Communist government, in Nepal by neglecting the country's Constitution.
"We will not keep quiet if the country is turned into a communist state within ten years, as claimed by some communist leaders," Singh said.
Meanwhile, senior CPN-UML leader and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today ruled out the possibility of Nepal turning into a communist state, after Left alliance coming to power.
"There is no point in imposing a dictatorial system in the country following the victory of the Left alliance. The people have chosen the Left parties for political stability and development in the country," he said.
He also said that the Left alliance will maintain cordial relations with the opposition and seek their cooperation in taking forward the country towards prosperity.
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