WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 332 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 24.8 C -6.7 C Friday, January 29, 2021 | 16-10-2077 Dipayal Jumla Court orders Oli to be present with written reply on contempt charge The bench has given the prime minister seven days to furnish clarification why he should not be punished for making disparaging remarks against the judiciary. TIKA R PRADHAN defending his House dissolution move. KATHMANDU, JAN 28 And in doing so, he said that lawyers were arguing ad nauseum on his The Supreme Court has summoned House dissolution decision despite the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to fact that there are no constitutional appear before it, in person, within provisions that allow for the restora- seven days with a written reply tion of the House. explaining why he should not be pun- After finding himself cornered in ished for contempt of court. his Nepal Communist Party, Oli on A single bench of Justice Manoj December 20 took a drastic step of Kumar Sharma issued the summons dissolving the House and declared to Oli on Thursday, responding to two snap polls for April 30 and May 10. cases of contempt of court filed As many as 13 writ petitions against against him for making disparaging Oli’s House dissolution move are remarks against legal practitioners being heard by the Constitutional and the judiciary. Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra “The Supreme Court has sum- Shumsher Rana. moned the prime minister to furnish Oli, however, is saying in every his reply in writing,” said Devendra other public function that his House Dhakal, assistant spokesperson for dissolution decision was a political the Supreme Court. move and that it does not warrant a POST PHOTO: ANGAD DHAKAL “As per the language of the order, judicial review, which analysts say is A devotee takes a dip at Hanumanghat, Bhaktapur as the month-long Shree Swasthani Madhav Narayan fasting began on Thursday. the defendant should appear before objectionable, as the prime minister is the court in person.” speaking on a case sub judice in court. On January 26, two contempt of On January 22, Oli not only took a court cases were registered at the jibe at Krishna Prasad Bhandari, 94, a court—one by senior advocate Kumar senior advocate and former chair of Sharma Acharya and the other by Nepal Bar Association, saying that the The fate of elections is up in the air, but Oli advocate Kanchan Krishna Neupane— petitioners were giving trouble to a against Oli for using derogatory “grandfather” lawyer, he even remarks against legal practitioners described the ongoing hearing on and trying to influence the court. House dissolution as a “drama”, draw- On January 22, Oli, while address- ing contempt of court cases. already seems to be in campaign mode ing his cadres in Kathmandu, was >> Continued on page 2 Analysts say Oli’s gatherings targeting polls need scrutiny given the chances of misuse of state resources as his House dissolution move is still being tested by the court of law. tion to that,” said Pokhrel. Even though the House dissolution is being heard by the court, Oli has been repeatedly saying that his deci- sion was a political move, hence it does not need a judicial review. On occasions, Oli has even said that there are no constitutional provisions for reviving the House in contrast to what constitutional experts and civil socie- ty members are claiming, saying the constitution actually does not have any provision that allows a majority prime minister to dissolve the House. Taking a dig at his opponents and making fun of his critics has become the hallmark of Oli of late and on one recent occasion, he went on to pass disparaging remarks against the ongo- ing hearing, calling it a drama, and legal professionals who are arguing against his House dissolution move. Responding to two contempt of court cases, the Supreme Court has POST PHOTO summoned Oli to appear before the KP Sharma Oli is sparing no effort to promote his faction and attack his opponents. court with his clarification. Political analysts say Oli is not naive BINOD GHIMIRE Capital-centric mass gathering on not to understand that there’s still KATHMANDU, JAN 28 February 5. uncertainty over the elections, but “We will show how a mass gather- since he is vindictive by nature, he has As if he is out on the hustings. ing is organised and how to mobilise been holding a series of gatherings to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s the masses,” said Oli, ridiculing a counter the Dahal-Nepal faction. House dissolution decision is at the recent mass gathering organised by Uddab Pyakurel, who teaches politi- Supreme Court which is testing the the Dahal-Nepal faction in protest of cal sociology at Kathmandu constitutionality of the move. After the House dissolution move. “Those University, said Oli’s focus is now on dissolving the House on December 20, who are elated at seeing a few thou- street shows, particularly because he Oli called snap polls for April 30 and sand people on the streets of wants to show his faction’s strength to May 10. Elections will happen only if Kathmandu will see our strength the Dahal-Nepal faction. the court endorses his decision. And a [soon].” “Despite making claims that he has decision is not unlikely anytime soon, Observers say Oli has turned poli- a huge support, Oli knows that win- as the court is conducting a hearing tics into a farce, as he is making an ning seats equal to what his party had on around a dozen writ petitions and all-out effort to show the strength of won in the past elections is a there are over 300 lawyers pleading his faction on the streets after dissolv- Herculean task,” said Pyakurel. against and for the move. ing a legitimate body of elected repre- “Therefore, he is making maximum But Oli seems to be in an election sentatives, where he commanded effort to brand his party.” mode already. nearly two-thirds majority. In the 2017 elections, Oli’s CPN- Over the last month, the Oli-led “The gatherings lately by Oli are an UML and Dahal’s CPN (Maoist Centre) Nepal Communist Party—the other attempt to push his faction as a had forged an alliance. The combined faction of the Nepal Communist Party brand,” said Bhoj Raj Pokhrel, a for- number of seats they won stood at is led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and mer chief election commissioner who a mammoth 174 in the 275-strong lower Madhav Kumar Nepal—has organised is credited for pulling the 2008 house. dozens of programmes and functions, Constituent Assembly elections suc- But with the division in the Nepal which look like no less than election cessfully. “The problem is he is using Communist Party, Oli has not only lost hustings. state resources and power to do so.” the support of the Maoist faction, Now the Oli faction is preparing for Pokhrel often calls election a game, many former UML leaders, including a show of strength in the Capital in in which political parties are the play- the senior ones like Madhav Kumar the first week of February. ers. While the players are allowed to Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal, too On January 22, exactly a month prepare themselves for the political have deserted him. Since both Nepal after the Nepal Communist Party split game, there needs to be a level-playing and Khanal enjoyed a significant clout politically, Oli announced his faction’s field, according to Pokhrel. in the former UML party, leaders loyal Since Oli is in power and he to them too have deserted Oli. and his loyalists have access to Meanwhile, Oli has managed to get resources, there are concerns some former Maoist leaders like Ram that they could misuse them to Bahadur Thapa, Top Bahadur get an edge over their opponents, Rayamajhi, Mani Thapa, Prabhu Sah if the way is cleared by the court and Gauri Shankar Chaudhary into for elections. his fold. This, observers say, may have According to Pokhrel, Oli, or made Oli more confident about his his government for that matter, political moves. must not forget that before the Pyakurel said the mass gatherings poll body imposes a code of con- called by Oli may have been seeing duct, there is a moral code that people in hordes, but that could be everyone must abide by. “But Oli also because he is currently in power. does not seem to have paid atten- >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2021 | 02 NATIONAL The fate of elections is up in the air, Eight months on, work stalled but Oli already seems to be ... >> Continued from page 1 but what is important is people in party held a dhoti rally in the at Darchula-Tinkar road “He should understand the fact that power must not misuse state Capital on January 9, bringing people he can count heads at his mass resources to win votes. from the Madhes to march on gatherings but it will be wrong to “And Oli has been crossing his Kathmandu streets. Analysts had said Sunsera-Mal section of the road was obstructed by landslides in June last year. count them as his votes,” said limits of late, and there are examples then that Oli’s attempt to woo the Pyakurel. “Even king Gyanedra once galore,” Pyakurel told the Post. people from the Madhes was nothing MANOJ BADU resume construction work at the tasks.