KATHMANDU, AUGUST 20

Co-chair of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal today told Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to withdraw recent political appointments as that could adversely affect the environment within the party at a time when a task force had already been formed to solve the intra-party feud.

Dahal told Oli that he should make political appointments only after getting them approved by the party Secretariat, a source close to Dahal told THT.

The government recently appointed Durga Bhandari as the acting chairperson of Press Council Nepal. The appointment was stayed by the Supreme Court yesterday. The government also appointed Kalyan Rokka as the chair of Youth and Small Enterprises Self- Employment Fund. A few days ago, Dahal and senior NCP leader Jhalanath Khanal had met Oli and opposed the appointment of Sushil Bhatta as the chief of Investment Board Nepal. Prime Minister’s Press Adviser Surya Thapa, however, said the issue of political appointments did not figure in the talks between Oli and Dahal.

The government has not been able to make appointments in some constitutional bodies and government institutions, including commissions formed to protect the rights of Madhesis, Janajatis, women, Dalits and other marginalised and vulnerable groups and communities mainly due to lack of coordination between the government and the leader of opposition.

In recent weeks, the PM consulted Leader of Opposition Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is a member of the Constitutional Council, on multiple occasions regarding the appointment of candidates in several government institutions, including constitutional commissions.

High-profile political appointments are made on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, chaired by the prime minister.

The Constitutional Council has to take a unanimous decision while recommending names for appointments to constitutional bodies.

The PM had brought an ordinance in April to amend the Constitutional Council Act, allowing the Constitutional Council to take its decision on the basis of majority. The PM’s move was criticised by opposition parties as an attempt to monopolise the appointments to the constitutional bodies. Civil society members have alleged that the government and the main opposition party were acting against the spirit of the constitution by sharing the spoils by making political appointments to constitutional bodies rather than picking people on the basis of merit.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 21, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.