In a new development, Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli has recommended the dissolution of the Parliament during an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday morning.
Energy Minister Brashaman Pun informed, “Today’s Cabinet meeting decided to recommend the President to dissolve the Parliament.” As per reports, the decision came at the backdrop of stiff opposition from his own party members for issuing an ordinance on Tuesday that empowered him to make crucial appointments. Led by former PMs Prachanda and Madhav Nepal, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been pressuring KP Oli to withdraw the controversial ordinance.
It is important to mention that the standing committee of the NCP has passed a resolution on Wednesday asking KP Oli to withdraw his ordinance. Even though he had agreed to comply initially, he later changed his mind. The Nepalese Prime Minister had met Prachanda and assured to withdraw the ordinance if the resolution was withdrawn. While KP Oli sought for cooperation, Prachanda refused to comply. He also met Governor Bidya Dev Bhandari and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa to contain the political turmoil.
The constitutional crisis in Nepal
Forced by circumstances, PM Oli sought support from Thapa, a close aide of Prachanda, in dissolving the federal Parliament. Although he was advised against taking the step, the Nepalese Prime Minister had made up his mind till then. It is important to note that the Nepalese Constitution has no provisions for dissolution of House, thereby, giving way to a new constitutional crisis
Tensions brewing within NCP since anti-India comments of KP Oli
The Prime Minister of Nepal KP Oli earlier faced a tremendous amount of heat from within his own party Nepal Communist Party as demands for his resignation increased gradually after he strained ties with India and reports of China illegally encroaching nearly 33 hectares of Nepalese land.
According to reports, a crucial meeting of ruling party NCP’s Standing Committee was scheduled on July 6 to decide the fate of KP Oli. The meeting of the Nepal Communist Party’s 45-member Standing Committee, the most powerful body of the party, was postponed as the party failed to forge consensus on the issue of resignation of Prime Minister Oli. The senior leaders of the party had earlier demanded Prime Minister Oli’s resignation, stating that his recent anti-India remarks were “neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate.”
