Nepal's Opposition warns Oli govt; urges state organs not to back 'unconstitutional acts'

Further creating troubles for Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli in Nepal, the Opposition alliance on Sunday warned the government against undertaking any activity that could have a lasting impact and all state institutions from supporting such  "unconstitutional" and "anti-democratic" activities that the government undertakes despite the warning. This comes at a time when a writ petition is being heard by the Supreme Court challenging the dissolution of the House of Representatives. 

Nepal's Opposition alliance urges institutions to not support activities of Oli govt 

In a joint statement released earlier in the day, the alliance first warned the government to refrain from undertaking any activity that could have a lasting effect on the country and people. It then went on to, warn all the state organs and institutions not to support the Oli government in its "unconstitutional" and "anti-democratic" acts.

 "We are certain that the Supreme Court of Nepal will safeguard the Constitution and give verdict in our favour," the alliance said in the statement and further added, "We had staked claim to the post of Prime Minister with the support of 149 lawmakers. The government cannot decide on dissolving the House in this case."

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', leader of the disgruntled faction of CPN-Unified Marxist-Leninist Madhav Kumar Nepal, co-chair of Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal Upendra Yadav and vice-chair of Rashtriya Janamorcha Durga Poudel signed the joint statement.

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolves Lower House 

On Saturday morning, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced that mid-term polls will be held on November 12 and 19. This came after Bhandari rejected the claims of both Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli and opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba for government formation. While Oli claimed that he had the support of 153 lawmakers including members of the Janata Samajbadi Party, Nepali Congress president Deuba submitted signatures of 149 parliamentarians comprising 27 members of the CPN-UML rival faction led by Madhav Kumar Nepal. 

This obviously did not add up as there are only 275 members in Nepal's House of Representatives. Based on the signatures and claims, the Nepal President affirmed that she is not going to appoint a PM as there is no concrete basis for both claimants to get a vote of confidence. After the decision was conveyed to Oli on Friday night, the latter conveyed a Cabinet meeting and recommended the dissolution of the Lower House. Bhandari took recourse to Article 76(5) which paves way for the dissolution of the Parliament and fresh polls if no one is able to garner the support of a majority of the lawmakers. 

Thereafter, the Opposition alliance moved to the Supreme Court demanding the reinstatement of the House of Representatives and appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister in line with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution. A Constitutional bench of the apex court heard petitions related to the matter and during the hearing on Sunday, it focused on the formation of the Constitutional bench to hear the writ petitions, which are over 30 in number now. 

It is pertinent to mention here that earlier, on December 20, the President had dissolved the Parliament and called snap polls on April 30 and May 10. However, two months later, Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana-led Constitutional Bench on February 23 overturned the decision and reinstated the House of Representatives.

(Credit-PTI/AP)