Can’t tell now who is the caretaker chief minister, says Koshi Province Chief

KATHMANDU: Parshuram Khapung, the Province Chief of Koshi Province, has stated that he is currently unable to confirm who the caretaker chief minister of the province is.

During a meeting with a delegation from the CPN-UML, led by the party’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader in Koshi Province Assembly, Ram Rana, on Monday, Khapung said he is unable to announce the caretaker chief minister until he gets the final text of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

The Supreme Court recently invalidated the province government led by Uddhab Thapa of the Nepali Congress, ruling that it is unconstitutional to use the Speaker’s signature to claim government formation.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, the UML is asserting that Hikmati Bahadur Karki should be the chief minister as the court nullified the entire process of government formation and ordered to initiate the process again as per Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal. Karki was serving as the caretaker chief minister when Thapa made the claim to form the government.

At present, the ruling coalition of Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has 46 members in the 93-member provincial assembly of Koshi Province. On the other hand, the opposition camp, consisting of UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), also holds 46 members, making the ruling and opposition sides evenly balanced in the assembly.