Kathmandu, March 31

The Nepali Congress is yet to decide on the Constitutional Council’s recommendation of chief election commissioner and a member of the Inclusion Commission in the absence of the leader of opposition NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The CC meeting of March 25 recommended Secretary of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya for the post of chief election commissioner and Bishnu Maya Ojha as member of the Inclusion Commission.

But Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba did not attend the meeting showing his personal schedule. “We need some days for discussion in the party to come up with a final decision on the issue. Our president is in Gulmi now and we need some time,” said Bhimsen Das Pradhan, former minister and PHC member.

The meeting was called to invite public complaints from the general people against the recently nominated chief election commissioner Thapaliya and the Inclusion Commission member Bishnu Maya Ojha. But it was postponed for Tuesday without any progress.

Speaking at the meeting, Pradhan criticised Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli saying he didn’t heed Deuba’s request to hold the meeting on April 7. “Our party president had requested the CC not to hold its meeting that day because he was busy with his parliamentary party meeting as well as other political meetings,” he said, adding, PM KP Sharma Oli’s government did not heed his request.

Pradhan said it was wrong practice on the part of the PM and revealed disrespect for the main opposition. “If the government doesn’t hear the voice of the opposition, the people will not trust it.”

He also said they didn’t have any objection to the persons the CC recommended but they objected to the CC’s decision-making process.

Previously, the Congress had criticised the process of nominating the five constitutional commissions’ chairs in the absence of the leader of opposition as it went against constitutional provisions. Later, four NC lawmakers — Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Puspa Bhusal, Bhimsen Das Pradhan and Jitendra Narayan Dev — boycotted the entire hearing of those five chairs of the commissions.

Though Congress lawmaker attended today’s meeting after a long time, they requested the PHC Chair Laxman Lal Karna to postpone the meeting for some days. Dev, who attended the meeting, said they needed to talk to party President Deuba on the CC decision.

Meanwhile, the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai came up with a proposal seeking to postpone the meeting till Tuesday to give the NC time to discuss the nominations.