KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has ordered the government to produce relevant documents in connection with a writ petition demanding that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli seek a vote of confidence in Parliament.
A division bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Poudel and Nripadhwaj Niraula issued the order on Wednesday during a preliminary hearing on the petition filed by advocate Birendra KC.
The court specifically directed that documents be presented regarding the Nagarik Unmukti Party’s withdrawal of support from the government. It also ordered the production of the letter of withdrawal, the resignation letter submitted by Minister Arun Chaudhary, and related documents.
The case comes amid political maneuvering. While Nagarik Unmukti Party initially withdrew its support on July 6, party chair Ranjita Shrestha extended support to the government again on August 20, just as the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML were working together to secure a two-thirds majority in the House to remove Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar of the Rastriya Swatantra Party.
On August 19, Congress and UML lawmakers had already begun collecting signatures to oust the Deputy Speaker. That same evening, Ranjita attended a ruling coalition meeting and reaffirmed her support to Prime Minister Oli’s government.
Earlier, following Nagarik Unmukti Party’s withdrawal of support, Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Arun Chaudhary had tendered his resignation. However, Oli has not yet accepted the resignation. Despite this, Ranjita moved to rejoin the ruling alliance.
Meanwhile, Nagarik Unmukti Party’s internal disputes have also spilled into the political arena. Party patron Resham Chaudhary had attempted to replace Ranjita with his father Lalbir Chaudhary during the party’s first national convention. However, the Election Commission annulled that decision, enabling Ranjita to remain chairperson and officially extend support to Oli’s government.
Comment