KATHMANDU, JULY 17
Former Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki has said that by virtue of the provisions of Article 76 (5) no-whip or free-voting right is available to all members of the House of Representatives and not just 149 MPs who supported Deuba's bid for prime ministership.
As per the verdict of the court they have installed Deuba as PM.
Karki said MPs have constitutional right to vote in favour of PM Deuba in the House.
Since the members of the HoR, who had challenged the dissolution of the HoR in the Supreme Court had convinced /promised before the Supreme Court that they supported Deuba's bid for prime ministership and obtained judicial remedy from the court compelling the president to appoint Deuba as new PM under Article 76 (5), it is their constitutional obligation to form a full-fledged government replacing the Oli government, Karki argued.
According to former attorney general Karki, if the lawmakers, who had supported Deuba's bid for prime ministership, failed to vote and leave Deuba halfway they would be betraying the Supreme Court or even dishonouring the Supreme Court verdict and breaking the promise made before the president as well.
Karki said if the lawmakers did not support Deuba, that would expose them before the whole world and the Nepali people. "That's why free-voting right is protected up to the stage of parliamentary confirmation of the Deuba government.
After that stage, rules of party whip become activated.
Then after, it's the PM's responsibility to ensure majority to continue as PM," Karki argued. According to Karki, the unique mechanism of Article 76(5) has enabled MPs to check their party leaders from becoming a dictator or punishing the dictator or even dislodging him/her from power.
"Look at the downfall of the redoubtable Oli. This is what the verdict talks about," he added.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 18 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
