WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 298 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 26.2 C -6.8 C Saturday, December 26, 2020 | 11-09-2077 Bhairahawa Jumla Constitutional Bench asks for reasons for House dissolution, seeks amicus curiae The five-member bench also asks about the time of the no-confidence motion filed against the Oli government. There are conflicting versions on when it was registered. BINOD GHIMIRE Attorney General,” reads the order. KATHMANDU, DEC 25 The five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Indications are that it will be a while Shumsher Rana also asked the gov- before the Supreme Court will give a ernment to present the original copy verdict on the constitutionality of the of its decision regarding the House KP Sharma Oli government’s Sunday dissolution. Another significant order move of dissolving the House of is to produce before court the original Representatives. copy that shows the exact time a A hearing on 13 writs against no-confidence motion was registered President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s dis- against Prime Minister KP Sharma solution of the House on the recom- Oli in the Parliament Secretariat on mendation of the Oli Cabinet began Sunday, the day President Bhandari on Friday, but the next hearing is dissolved the House of Representatives. scheduled for January 6. “As one of the writs (077-wc-0037) The Constitutional Bench ended mentions the registration of a no-con- Friday’s hearing after listening to fidence motion at the Parliament opening remarks of a handful of law- Secretariat, produce the original copy yers and making four significant that shows when and at what time the orders. These include a show cause application was registered,” reads the POST PHOTO: ANGAD DHAKAL notice against the Office of the order. Nepal Communist Party leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal scroll their phones as their faction of the Nepal Communist Party stages a protest at Maitighar, Kathmandu on President and the government The time of no-confidence motion Friday against the dissolution of the House of Representatives. They later marched to the Election Commission at Kantipath where their faction claimed its legitimacy as the registered party demanding a written justification for registration is important as the with signatures of the majority of its Central Committee members. their move to dissolve the House. Supreme Court in 1995 had ruled It has sought clarification from against then CPN-UML-led Manmohan them asking why the court should not Adhikari minority government’s dis- issue an order as demanded by the solution of Parliament saying that the petitioners who have sought revoca- recommendation for dissolution was tion of the President’s approval to made after a no-confidence motion Nepal Communist Party split was expected to dissolve the House based on the gov- had been filed against it. The other ernment’s recommendation. reason that the court had given for its “If there is any legal ground not to ruling was there was still the possibil- issue a ruling as demanded by the ity of forming a government through have repercussions. There are hints already petitioners, submit the details by a House vote. January 3 through the Office of the >> Continued on page 2 Members of Dahal-Nepal faction in Bagmati file no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Dormani Poudel, a close ally of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. members may table in writing a motion of no-confidence against the chief minister, the Dahal-Nepal fac- tion can easily make a move if it wants. “It is obvious that the long-standing contradictions in Province 1 and Bagmati Province over the selection of chief ministers will reappear after the split in the party,” said Raghuji Pant, a Standing Committee member now with the Dahal-Nepal faction. “The incumbent chief ministers of the two provinces were appointed forcibly.” There were disagreements when Poudel and Rai were elected chief ministers in Province 1 and Bagmati. However, Oli had managed to bulldoze his decisions. In Bagmati, Shakya, a Standing Committee member considered to be close to Madhav Nepal, was tipped to POST PHOTO be the chief minister, but Poudel was A no-confidence motion has been filed against Bagmati Chief Minister Dormani Poudel. chosen later through an election con- ducted at Oli’s insistence, party lead- TIKA R PRADHAN inces quickly, leaders say. ers say. KATHMANDU, DEC 25 In the 110-member Bagmati In Province 1, Bhim Acharya and Provincial Assembly, Nepal Rai, both from then UML, were in the As expected, repercussions of the split Communist Party has 80 seats, which fray for the post of provincial parlia- in the Nepal Communist Party have are now divided between the Dahal- mentary party leader. Acharya was now started to emerge in provinces, Nepal and Oli factions at 46 and 34. defeated by Rai by just two votes. with Bagmati Province standing in Internal Affairs Minister Shalikram Acharya is with the Dahal-Nepal fac- line to be the first casualty. Jamarkattel proposed the no-confi- tion now. As many as 45 members of the dence motion, which was seconded by According to Pant, changes are Bagmati Provincial Assembly on Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest likely to happen in other provinces Friday filed a no-confidence motion and Environment Arun Prasad Nepal. as well. against Chief Minister Dormani Jamarkattel is a former Maoist Despite having a majority in Poudel. leader close to Dahal while Nepal is Lumbini Province, whose Chief The members, belonging to the close to Madhav Nepal. Minister Shankar Pokhrel is Oli’s Pushpa Kamal Dahal-Madhav Nepal “We have proposed Ashta Laxmi close ally, the equation can change faction, have proposed Asta Laxmi Shakya as the next chief minister,” quite easily, insiders say. Shakya as the new chief minister. Ratna Dhakal, a member of the assem- In the 87-member assembly, the Poudel belongs to the faction led by bly and a central committee member, Nepal Communist Party had won 61 KP Sharma Oli. told the Post. seats. After the split, the Daha-Nepal Prime Minister Oli’s decision to dis- Both Jamarkattel and Nepal, along faction has 25 seats while the Oli fac- solve the House of Representatives on with Minister for Social Development tion has 36. Sunday resulted in a split in the Nepal Yubaraj Dulal, resigned on Friday. The Nepali Congress, Janata Communist Party, which was formed The next province that is likely to Samajbadi Party and Janamorcha in May 2018 through a merger between be affected is Province 1 where Chief have 19, six and one seats, respectively. then CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre. Minister Sherdhan Rai is already in Leaders say the Dahal-Nepal faction Both Oli and Dahal-Nepal factions the minority. Rai is one of the close can easily file a no-confidence motion now are in a bid to wrest control of confidants of Oli. against Pokhrel and form a govern- the party. In the 93-member Provincial ment by seeking support of the After the 2017 elections, the Nepal Assembly, Rai has only 20 seats of 67 Congress party in Lumbini. Communist Party had formed govern- that went to the Nepal Communist The Dahal-Nepal faction controls a ments in six out of the seven provinc- Party—51 to former UML and 16 to the majority in Karnali and Sudurpaschim es. Now with the party split between former Maoist party. as well. In the 40-member Provincial the Oli and Dahal-Nepal factions, The Dahal-Nepal faction now con- Assembly in Karnali, the Dahal-Nepal equations are likely to change in prov- trols 47 seats. faction has 20 seats and the Oli faction “I don’t think the leaders are has 13. In Sudurpaschim, which has a preparing for a no-confidence 53-member assembly, the Dahal-Nepal motion in Province 1 but that is faction controls 31 seats and the Oli inevitable now,” said Hemraj faction 8. Bhandari, a central member who The only province where the Oli belongs to the Dahal-Nepal fac- faction appears to be strong is tion representing Province 1. Gandaki. “Having a majority in the In the 60-member assembly, the Oli Provincial Assembly, it is unlike- faction controls 27 seats. The Dahal- ly that Dahal and Nepal will Nepal faction controls 13 seats. The accept Rai as chief minister.” Nepali Congress, Janamorcha and Since Article 188 (4) of the Janata Samajbadi Party have 15, 3 and constitution says one-fourth of two seats, respectively. the total number of the assembly >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL Few Nepalis apply for Malaysia amnesty scheme for undocumented workers Illegal workers in Malaysia can voluntarily return home without facing serious legal actions. CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL the country with the application pro- Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, KATHMANDU, DEC 25 cess and booking their appointment Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, day,” said Karki. Kazakhstan, India, and Indonesia) are The Malaysian government has once “Due to Covid-19 safety issues, prior eligible under the Illegal Immigrant again rolled out an amnesty scheme appointments have to be made, and Recalibration Plan. targeting illegal immigrants, includ- there are fewer slots which keep on Local authorities have expected that ing undocumented Nepali workers, filling up quickly.” nearly 250,000 illegal immigrants will giving them a chance to return home. However, Nepali workers’ enthusi- utilise the scheme, which will contin- Under the latest scheme, Nepalis asm to take part in the scheme has ue until June 2021. living in Malaysia illegally can volun- remained lukewarm compared to that Nepali workers have also benefited tarily return home without facing any for similar schemes in the past.