KATHMANDU, MAY 8

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba issued a press release saying he would not attend the Constitutional Council meeting called by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli tomorrow.

"The government's decision to issue an ordinance amending the Constitutional Council Act is against the spirit of the constitution, parliamentary norms and values, and an attack on democratic practice. I have therefore decided not to take part in the Constitutional Council meeting called for Sunday, and I also urge other members of the Council to boycott the meeting," Deuba said.

Stating that the government had repeatedly amended the Constitutional Council Act through ordinance violating the spirit of the constitution, Deuba urged other members of the CC not to attend the meeting.

This ordinance is against the special provisions and spirit of the constitution, and it has demolished the foundation of the constitution. The government has repeatedly issued ordinance bypassing the legislative power of the Parliament. The NC's view is that the government has issued the ordinance with mala fide intention, Deuba said in the release. He said the amendment to the Constitutional Council made through the ordinance was aimed at serving the government's mala fide intention of appointing political favourites in the constitutional bodies.

Meanwhile, CPN-Maoist Centre Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal also issued a press release urging the government to postpone the Constitutional Council meeting.

Dahal said that PM Oli had been issuing ordinances violating the values and norms of the constitution in an attempt to make constitutional bodies accomplices to the PM's autocratic steps. Dahal also called on other members of the Constitutional Council not to participate in the meeting tomorrow.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 9, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.