Kathmandu, Dec 20: Nepal’s embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday sprang a surprise on his rivals and got the President to dissolve Parliament, a controversial move amidst a prolonged tussle for power between him and former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” within the ruling dispensation.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved Parliament’s House of Representatives at Oli’s recommendation and announced mid-term general election in April-May, a decision termed “unconstitutional, impulsive and autocratic” by the Opposition and dissidents in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
Earlier in the day, an emergency meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Oli decided to recommend the President for the dissolution of Parliament, a senior Standing Committee member of the NCP told PTI.
The first phase of the mid-term election will be held on April 30 and May 10 for the second phase, the Rashtrapati Bhawan said. The 275-member House of Representatives, which is the lower house of Parliament, was elected in 2017 for a five-year term. The upper house is the National Assembly.
The move comes as the intra-party feud reached climax in the ruling NCP which has been witnessing months long tussle between two factions, one led by 68-year-old Oli and Party’s chairman and another led by 66-year-old “Prachanda”, also the executive chair of the party and former premier.
Expressing dissatisfaction over Oli’s move to dissolve the House, seven ministers from his Cabinet resigned in protest. Those who put in their papers are minister for science and education Giriraj Mani Pokharel, minister for energy and water resources Barshaman Pun, minister for agriculture Ghanashyam Bhushal, minister for labour and employment Rameshwor Raya Yadav, minister for tourism Yogesh Bhattarai, minister for forest and environment Shakti Basnet and minister for drinking water and sanitation Bina Magar.
The seven ministers, belonging to the Prachanda faction, announced their resignation in a joint statement issued during a press conference here. (PTI)
