KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala did not sign the petition at the parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar on Tuesday.
The ruling parties, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, had collected signatures from their federal MPs to remove Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar from her post.
However, Dr. Koirala did not participate in this signature campaign, in line with his own stance and despite the party’s general instructions. His refusal sparked various political rumors, including social media chatter about signing a blank paper or the purpose of the petition.
Shekhar, however, believes that removing the deputy speaker at this moment would make the government more unpopular. He has expressed to his close aides that amid rising public dissatisfaction with the powerful coalition formed on Asar 30, 2081, targeting the deputy speaker would only add fuel to the fire.
According to his personal secretary, Dinesh Chandra Thapaliya, Shekhar sees the government as having many pressing tasks for the public and that focusing on unpopular measures now would be inappropriate.
Thapaliya quoted Shekhar:
“At this time, the government has many important tasks that concern the people. Why take steps that will make the government even more unpopular? Public frustration is already high, and this is not the time to provoke further discontent.”
Shekhar also stressed that the government should set a good example for the younger generation by focusing on necessary work rather than actions that increase unpopularity. “We have countless tasks that need attention. The government should not waste energy on actions it shouldn’t take,” he said.
Regarding the signature campaign, Thapaliya clarified that Dr. Koirala had no prior information about it. “He was not informed by the party office. While it’s not that he would refuse if asked, he simply had no knowledge of the campaign, which is why he didn’t sign,” he said.
Similarly, parliamentary party chief Shebaraj Deuba and leader Shyam Ghimire also did not sign the petition calling for Deputy Speaker Rana Magar’s removal. According to one MP, neither Deuba nor Koirala put their signatures on the circulated papers.
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