KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 15

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s decision to bring an ordinance to amend provisions of the Constitutional Council Act has enraged not only opposition parties, but also the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s faction led by Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Five members of the NCP Secretariat — Dahal, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Bamdev Gautam, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Jhalanath Khanal — held a discussion at Dahal’s residence and demanded that the PM withdraw the ordinance.

“We are of the view that this ordinance is wrong and the PM should withdraw it,” NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha said.

He said the issue would be discussed in the Standing Committee meeting tomorrow.

Dahal also held talks with deputy parliamentary party leader of NCP Subas Chandra Nembang, who is close to Oli.

Leader of opposition Sher Bahadur Deuba, who boycotted the meeting of the Constitutional Council held this evening, condemned the issuance of the ordinance. He wrote on Twitter that it was wrong on the part of the PM, who had neither let election for the deputy speaker happen nor taken the speaker into confidence, to argue that there was lack of quorum in the Constitutional Council.

He said the issuance of ordinance by evading parliamentary process was undemocratic and had exposed the government’s totalitarian mindset.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Radhe Shyam Adhikari, who is also a senior advocate, told THT that the PM brought the new ordinance to unilaterally make appointments in the constitutional bodies. He said the PM also wanted to bypass Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota, who he perceived would not attend the CC meeting. “The prime minister’s decision to bring this ordinance is fraudulent,” he added.

Adhikari said the new ordinance could be challenged in the court and Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana should not have attended the council meeting after issuance of the ordinance.

Adhikari said the president, who was the guardian of the constitution, should have consulted constitutional experts before granting her seal of approval to the ordinance.

“The president has deviated from her role of acting as the guardian of the constitution,” he added.

The NCP is plagued by intra-party feud with the faction led by Dahal accusing Oli of defying party decisions, making appointments to constitutional bodies without consulting party leaders, and failing to ensure good governance.