The
President of Nepal, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, has on Thursday approved the
government’s proposal to prorogue the ongoing Parliamentary session. It all
came as a relief to Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who is facing stiff
opposition from within the ruling Nepal Communist Party.
Now, he would be able to avoid a
no-confidence motion from his own lawmakers. A Cabinet meeting held at Oli’s
official residence in Baluwatar on Thursday decided to recommend the President
to discontinue the Parliament’s Budget session without dissolving it. Oli had
also met President Bhandari twice on June 30, 2020 ahead of the Cabinet
meeting.
Rallying behind former Prime Minister and
Nepal Communist Party co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, commonly known as
Prachanda Dahal, 31 out of 44 standing committee members of the party stood
against Oli in a party meeting on Wednesday and reiterated their demand for his
resignation, The Kathmandu Post reported. This included the country’s Home
Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, giving a jolt to the already ailing Oli government.
While the prorogation of the Parliament
will save Oli from an immediate floor test, it will also allow him to
reintroduce an ordinance meant to relax the provision to recognise a split in a
political party. The ordinance, which sought to amend an existing provision in
the country’ Political Parties Act, proposed the registration of a new party at
the Election Commission with 40 per cent support either in parliamentary party
or in party central committee. The ordinance was withdrawn after vociferous
criticism. The political turmoil in Nepal comes amid border row with India over
areas of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The country’s Parliament
unanimously cleared a constitution amendment Bill on June 18, endorsing the its
new map that includes territories with India.