‘Forced to seek fresh mandate’: Nepal PM Oli defends his move
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday defended his move to abruptly dissolve Parliament, saying he was forced to seek a fresh mandate through elections as the rift within the ruling Nepal Communist Party severely affected his government’s functioning.
Meanwhile, his opponents have turned to the Supreme Court to challenge his move, denouncing it as a “constitutional coup”.
Seven government ministers stepped down after Oli’s dissolution saying it was violation of the “popular mandate” given to them in a 2017 general election.
Oli on Sunday sprang a surprise on his rivals and got the
President to dissolve Parliament, a controversial move amidst a prolonged tussle for power between him and former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ within the ruling dispensation.
In a special address to the nation, Oli said that he was forced to dissolve Parliament and announce mid-term elections after he learnt about a plan to move a vote of no-confidence against him.
“I was forced to seek a fresh mandate through elections as attempts were made against my government, not to allow it to function properly,” the PM said.
Oli said that the intra-party rift in the ruling Nepal Communist Party severely affected the government’s functioning.
“The elected government was pushed to a corner and picketed against and was not allowed to work so I decided to dissolve the house.”
“Against the people’s mandate and their will, national politics was dragged into an endless and goalless direction by creating controversy, making Parliament meaningless as the elected government could not receive its support but always faced opposition and dragged
This move could be seen as an abrupt step...but some of my party leaders should be held responsible for this KP SHARMA OLI, Nepal PM
continued from →1 into the controversy,” Oli said.
Supreme Court spokesman Bhadrakali Pokharel said three petitions against the dissolution were “in the process of being registered”.
“Under the constitution, the prime minister has no prerogative to dissolve parliament,” lawyer Dinesh Tripathi, who is one of the petitioners, told Reuters.
“It’s a constitutional coup. I’m seeking a stay order from the court.”
Oli accused some of his own party leaders of being responsible for forcing him to take this step.
“When the prime minister of the majority government was not allowed to work, I did not want to indulge in unfair practices behind closed doors and reach a compromise with them,” Oli said, adding that giving a chance to the people for a fresh mandate is “the best democratic alternative.”
“This move could be seen as an abrupt step for now, but some of my party leaders should be held responsible for creating this situation who did not cooperate with my government,” Oli said.
The Nepal Communist Party’s Standing Committee meeting termed Oli’s move as “unconstitutional, undemocratic and based on his personal whim”, and recommended to take disciplinary action against the prime minister.
Rejecting the party’s move,
Oli said the decision taken by the second chair of the party was against the party statute, The Kathmandu Post reported.
“Since I am the first chair of the party, any meeting called by the other chair will not be legitimate,” lawmaker of the dissolved House Krishna Rai quoted Oli as saying.
Earlier in the day, Oli addressed the lawmakers close to him and said that he was forced to take the decision to dissolve Parliament after he was “cornered” within his party and “conspiracies” were hatched against him in collusion with national and international forces, My Republica reported.
“We have to ask for forgiveness with the people and go for a fresh election as we could not deliver what we had promised,” Oli told lawmakers.
The move to dissolve Parliament came as the intra-party feud reached a climax in the NCP which has been witnessing months-long tussle between two factions, one led by 68-yearold Oli and another led by 66-year-old “Prachanda”, also the executive chair of the party and former premier.
Referring to a meeting of lawmakers called by Prachanda and senior leader Madhav Nepal, Oli said the meeting of the parliamentary party should be called either by the leader or the deputy leader of the parliamentary party.
The president on Sunday set April 30 and May 10 as dates for the general election — more than a year ahead of schedule — on the advice of Oli’s cabinet.