Pradeep Yadav sworn in as new health and population minister from JSP
Kathmandu, May 13
Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal president Upendra Yadav filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the Election Commission, seeking to overturn the recognition of a new party formed after splitting from the Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal (JSP-N).
Yadav claimed that EC registered the new party though it had 40 per cent central committee members. Hearing in the case has been scheduled for Wednesday.
Following the JSP-N split, Yadav lost the Madhes government yesterday and resigned from his federal portfolios as health minister and deputy prime minister on Monday.
While Yadav was in the United States for the 57th session of the Commission on Population and Development, his close friend and federal council Chair Ashok Rai from the JSP-N rebelled and formed a new party, the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) and applied to register at the election commission on May 5, dropping the word Nepal from his previous party.
JSP-N which had altogether 12 lawmakers from the Lower House. Rai, with seven legislators and 31 members of the central committee, registered the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) party at the Election Commission on May 6.
Election Commission spokesperson Ram Datt Pandey told THT, "Janata Samajwadi Party led by Ashok Rai was registered at EC in accordance with Section 33 of Political Party Act and Rule 5 of Political Party Regulations."
However, Yadav has called the decision to register the new party under Section 33 illegal because the act is inactive and the EC's use of such a law is an illegally incorrect decision. So, the EC must scrap the newly registered JSP as it doesn't have legal validity.
Rule 5 of the Political Party Regulations incorporated the provision of the ordinance issued two years ago to amend the provision of the Political Party Act that required 40 per cent members of the central party and parliamentary party to split any political party.
The ordinance issued by the government almost three years ago amended Section 33(2) of the Political Party Act, allowing the split of a political party by a majority of either 20 per cent members of the central committee or the parliamentary party of a political party. The ordinance ceases to exist now. The government introduced a new bill in the House of Representatives on January 25 to restore Section 33(2) of the Political Party Act, but this bill has not been passed yet.
Meanwhile, President Ramachandra Paudel swore in Pradip Yadav, a JSP lawmaker as Health and Population Minister today at Sheetal Niwas, in the presence of Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire and Chairperson of the National Assembly Narayan Dahal.
Upendra Yadav, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population, resigned on Monday. Yadav resigned from the government, citing an inability to continue cooperation in the current political climate as the reason for his decision. Deepak Karki, State Minister for Health and Population and a member of the JSP-N political committee, also resigned from his position.
The coalition still has a majority, with 77 CPN-UML legislators (excluding the Speaker and a suspended lawmaker), 32 CPN-MC seats, 21 Rastriya Swatantra Party members, seven newly formed Janata Samajwadi Party parliamentarians, and 10 CPN (US) seats. Despite the majority, the lawmakers and leaders are commenting that PM Dahal must go for the floor test as the party from the ruling coalition has withdrawn its support.
On Sunday, the CPN-UML and the CPN-MC withdrew their support for Madhes' provincial government, which was led by JSP-N Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav. The provincial government is now in a minority after the two major parties withdrew their support.
However, the CPN-UML, CPN-MC, Janamat Party, and LSP-N have reached an agreement to form a new government in Madhes but have been unable to reach a consensus because each party wants to lead the provincial government.
