BIRATNAGAR: Vice President Paramananda Jha on Monday said the cabinet decision to sack the CoAS exceding its mandate had dragged the President into a controversy.

Talking to mediapersons at Biratnagar airport, Jha said, "It was natural on part of the President to exercise his rights as the supreme commander of the Nepali Army."

Had the cabinet consulted the President before sacking the CoAS, the move would have been undisputable, he said. Jha said the present impasse was the result of unilateral decision of the cabinet. He said the President was not compelled to implement the decision of a party.

Jha said both President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal had erred in their decisions. According to him, whether the President was executive or symbolic depended on practice as the constitution did not mention that. Jha hinted at the possibility of delay in drafting the constitution, thanks to the parties' indulgence in toppling and forming governments.