The decision of President Vidyadevi Bhandari to dissolve the House of Representatives on the orders of Prime Minister KP Oli has been overturned by the Supreme Court. The House of Representatives has been re-established after the Supreme Court decided to dismiss it on Monday afternoon. A bench of Justices Cholendra Shamsher Jabra, Deepak Kumar Karki, Mira Khadka, Ishwori Prasad Khatiwada and Ananda Mohan Bhattarai has also issued a final order to make Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba the Prime Minister as per the petitioner’s demand. At the same time, President Vidyadevi Bhandari has to appoint Nepali Congress President Deuba as the Prime Minister within the next 24 hours.
Chairman of the CPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the people had won with the court’s decision. He said that he was happy to see Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister and would fully support Deuba on his behalf. The Congress party has welcomed the decision of the court to appoint Deuba as the Prime Minister. The Congress has stated that it will discuss the formation of the government with the opposition parties soon. The Congress has concluded that the alliance between Sheetal Niwas and Baluwatar has also ended. “This victory is a victory for Nepal’s democracy and a historic moment to use it for the benefit of the Nepali people,” said Congress leader Bishwaprakash Sharma. He also believed that KP Oli would pave the way for the victory of the people and the new government to be formed.
Senior leaders have responded to the court’s decision. On the other hand, Madhav Kumar Nepal, a senior leader of the UML but signed to make Deuba the prime minister, said that the court had taken such a decision to protect the constitution, parliament and democracy. Former Finance Minister and JSPA Federal Chairman Baburam Bhattarai has said that the President and the Prime Minister should resign immediately if there is any morality. Senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudyal said that their campaign for the defense of the constitution was successful. He also congratulated Deuba for becoming the Prime Minister.
While the opposition is happy with the court’s decision, the UML leaders are not satisfied. UML leader Pradip Gyawali has said that the court’s decision went beyond the essence of democracy and disturbed the principle of separation of powers. Leader Shankar Pokharel has said that there is a serious attack on the parliamentary system and party system. Leader Subash Nemwang has said that he will accept the decision of the Supreme Court to reinstate the House of Representatives even if it is wrong. Leader Mahesh Basnet, who protested against the court’s verdict, said that Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher had played a game. He has accused Deuba of failing to get a vote of confidence by ordering him to become the prime minister.
