KATHMANDU, Dec 15: Chairman of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has reached President’s Office at Shital Niwas.
After the meeting of the Constitutional Council in Baluwatar, PM Oli reached Shital Niwas for a discussion with President Bidya Devi Bhandari at around 7.30 pm.
On Tuesday, the government introduced an ordinance allowing the Constitutional Council to convene without the presence of members of the Council like Speaker and the leader of the main opposition party.
With the new provisions, the meeting was held in the presence of Prime Minister Oli, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Timilsina and Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JBR.
The leaders of the ruling party, including Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, and the main opposition party Nepali Congress have strongly objected against the new ordinance. They have argued that the government have shown autocratic system of governance, and the ordinance is against the spirit of the Contitutional provisions.
According to the Constitution of Nepal, the Contitutional Council shall be responsible to recommend for the appointment of constitutional posts with consensus among the members of the Council. With the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, the Council shall have members as Chief Justice, Speaker of lower house, Chairman of Upper House and leader of the main opposition party.
Prominent constitutional lawyer Bhimarjun Acharya tweeted:
The ordinance issued today has ended the legitimacy of the Constitutional Council. This has dragged the judiciary into controversy along with the President. The rule of law is a matter to be assimilated through implementation. Today’s incident is unfortunate for the longevity of the constitution and the system itself.
Reaction of President of Nepali Congress and a member of Constitutional Council Sher Bahadur Deuba :
It was undemocratic act of the government to introduce the Ordinance by evading the parliament session.
