Kathmandu, August 8

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today referred to ‘hue and cry’ made by the opposition Nepali Congress against the rejection of chief justice nominee Deepak Raj Joshee as ‘overreaction’. He shared this view during a meeting with senior leaders of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) at his residence in Baluwatar.

“The Constitutional Council had recommended Joshee’s name for the post of chief justice. But the Parliamentary Hearing Committee overturned the CC’s decision after it conducted its  investigation and found Joshee unsuitable for the post,” senior NCP (NCP) leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha quoted the PM as saying.

The PM said NC should not ‘overreact’, as it was natural for PHC not to endorse someone ‘not qualified for the post’. The Constitutional Council, which is headed by PM Oli, had recommended Joshee for the post of chief justice on June 12, as the Supreme Court was headless after chief justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli retired on March 14. The CC then forwarded its decision to the PHC and asked it to conduct a review. But two-thirds of PHC members, on August 3, rejected the proposal to appoint Joshee as the chief justice.

The opposition NC did not take part in the voting carried out by the PHC, which is heavily dominated by ruling NCP (NCP) members. Since then, it has called PHC’s decision ‘an attack on the judiciary’ and an attempt to ‘intimidate the Supreme Court to follow NCP (NCP)’s orders’. The PM said voices raised by the NC were aimed at ‘toppling the government’. “We should ignore NC’s accusations and work hard to make the country prosperous,” Shrestha quoted the PM as saying.

The PM also said the NCP (NCP) should focus on completing its unfinished agenda of unifying various organisations of erstwhile CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre at the grassroots. The NCP (NCP) secretariat will meet again tomorrow to finalise the organisational structure of the organisations. The PM today also reflected on his recent India and China visit and said the trips helped Nepal deepen relations with both the neighbouring countries. “This cordial relationship will help us build a prosperous Nepal,” NCP (NCP) General Secretary Bishnu Poudel quoted PM Oli as saying.