UML challenges govt formation in Koshi at the apex court

KATHMANDU: CPN-UML has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the process of government formation in Koshi Province.

Rebati Raman Bhandari, the UML Chief Whip in the Koshi Province Assembly, told Himal Press that his party has filed a writ petition challenging the unconstitutional decision to appoint Uddhab Thapa of the Nepali Congress as the Chief Minister using the Speaker’s signature.

“We have submitted this writ petition demanding that the apex court dissolve the government with an order of certiorari, as the government formed under Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal is unconstitutional. We have also requested the court to issue a mandamus order to pave the way for the formation of a government as per Article 168 (2),” Bhandari said. “In the writ petition, we have stated that the call to form the government should be in accordance with Article 168 (3), and the parliamentary party leader of the largest party in the provincial assembly, Hikmat Bahadur Karki of CPN-UML, should become the Chief Minister.”

Province Chief Parshuram Khapung administered the oath of office and secrecy to Chief Minister Thapa on Friday morning. Thapa has appointed Pradip Sunuwar of the Nepali Congress and Kamal Jabegu of the CPN (Unified Socialist) as ministers in his cabinet.

Khapung had invited parties to form the government as per Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal after UML’s Hikmat Bahadur Karki failed the vote of confidence on June 30.

Both the ruling and opposition camps have 46 seats each in the provincial assembly. While the UML has 40 members in the provincial assembly, its ally Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has six members. The ruling coalition, comprising four parties, also holds 46 seats – the Nepali Congress has 29, the Maoist Center has 13, the Unified Socialist has four, and the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has one.

Controversy arose in the Koshi Province Assembly after Speaker Baburam Gautam, elected from the Maoist Center, supported Thapa’s claim to form a government.