KATHMANDU: The government was preparing to present the six ordinances for approval in both houses of Parliament on Thursday. However, the ordinances were removed from the agenda of the House of Representatives and National Assembly at the last moment. The reason was the disagreement between the ruling coalition and the Upendra Yadav-led Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP)-Nepal.
Although the government has a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, it lacks sufficient members in the National Assembly to pass the ordinances. This is why the ruling coalition is seeking the support of JSP Nepal Chairperson Upendra Yadav to pass the ordinances. Yadav, in turn, is seeking a ‘share’ from the ruling parties to pass the ordinances.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba have requested Yadav to help pass the ordinances.
Yadav had met NC President Deuba on Wednesday evening and Prime Minister Oli on Thursday morning. In meetings with Oli and Deuba, he has demanded the position of deputy prime minister and home or health minister as well as leadership of the Madhesh Province Government.
Earlier, JSP Nepal had formed a task force to study the ordinances. The task force, led by Vice Chairperson Raj Kishor Yadav, submitted the report to Chairperson Yadav on Thursday. The party has said that the report has been provided to lawmakers for study.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government has the support of JSP Nepal. However, despite supporting the government, JSP Nepal does not have representation in the government. JSP Nepal lost the leadership of the Madhesh Province Government despite being in the ruling coalition.
JSP Nepal’s rival, the Janamat Party, is leading the Madhesh Province Government. JSP Nepal, which had led the government in Madhesh for seven consecutive years since the implementation of federalism, wants to reclaim its lost legacy. Yadav is using the ordinances as a ‘weapon’ for this.
JSP Nepal General Secretary Ram Kumar Sharma claimed that they were not bargaining with the government regarding the ordinances. “The government, which was showing off its two-thirds majority, has finally realized its true capacity. The ordinances were supposed to be presented in Parliament today. But the government has backtracked,” Sharma told Himal Press. “The government is now on the backfoot. The Prime Minister should step down on moral grounds.”
Sharma claimed that if they had set any conditions, the government would immediately be ready to fulfill them.
“We have not put forward any conditions. There is no truth to the things that have come out in the media,” he said.
Although JSP Nepal has stalled the passage of the ordinances, it has not openly opposed them. The party’s official stance on the ordinances’ content has not been made public. Task force coordinator Yadav had indicated on Wednesday that their perspective might differ from the ordinances.
JSP Nepal, while supporting Oli’s government, has continuously been criticizing it. Chairperson Yadav has been making sharp comments about Prime Minister Oli and the government’s working style.
Despite supporting the government, JSP Nepal does not appear to be part of the ruling side. Nor has it been able to become an opposition party. Its presence has not been seen in the meetings of the ruling coalition.
Sharma said that a decision would be made after the government presents the ordinances in Parliament.
The government had presented six ordinances in both houses on January 31. There is a constitutional provision that the ordinances must be passed by a majority vote in both houses within 60 days of the start of the parliament session.
In the House of Representatives, the government has 188 lawmakers in its favor: 88 from NC, 79 from UML, seven from JSP, six from Janamat Party, and four each from Loktantrik Samajbadi Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party.
Although the government enjoys a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives, it does not have the required support in the National Assembly. In the 59-member National Assembly, the ruling party needs the support of 30 lawmakers to pass the ordinances. The ruling coalition has 29 lawmakers – 16 from NC, 10 from UML, two nominated, and one from Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP).
JSP Nepal has three lawmakers in the upper house – Pooja Chaudhary, Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav, and Mohammad Khalib.
