Under immense pressure from his detractors in the ruling Nepal Communist Party to withdraw a controversial ordinance, the Nepal PM on Sunday recommended dissolution of parliament.
Kathmandu| Under immense pressure from his detractors in the ruling Nepal Communist Party to withdraw a controversial ordinance, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday morning recommended dissolution of Parliament. The cabinet cleared the recommendation at an emergency meeting on Sunday morning. The president of Nepal will take a call on this recommendation.
“Today’s Cabinet meeting decided to recommend the President to dissolve the Parliament,” Barshaman Pun, energy minister in PM Oli’s cabinet, said after meeting.
PM Oli was under intense pressure from the rival factions of the NCP led by former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The move by Oli has been seen as a result of the pressure.
In one of the many meetings that PM Oli held on Saturday as he tried to convince his rivals to back down, he met President Bidya Devi Bhandari at her official residence ‘Shital Niwas’ last evening.
The Oli government had issued an ordinance to give himself the power to make crucial appointments. The dissolution of parliament is seen as a precursor to a split in the party that had been piling pressure on him to withdraw the ordinance.
The party’s standing committee, on Wednesday, had passed a resolution that asked PM Oli to withdraw the ordinance. Mr Oli had agreed to comply at the committee’s meeting but later had other thoughts.
PM Oli, on Saturday, drove down to Mr Dahal’s residence for one more attempt to reconcile their differences, offering to withdraw the ordinance if the political document that was sharply critical of him was also withdrawn. Sources aware of the matter said PM Oli told him that they needed to work together and find a way out of the crisis. But Mr Dahal did not budge.
Nepal watchers said PM Oli was advised at his meeting with President Bhandari against taking such drastic action. But PM Oli had made up his mind.
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