Former Nepal PM Oli demands reinstatement of Lower House

Kathmandu, Oct 9 (IANS) Nepal's former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who was ousted from office last month following the Gen-Z protests, has said that his party would now move ahead with the demand for the restoration of the dissolved House of Representatives.

Speaking at a party event in Bhaktapur of the Kathmandu Valley, Oli, who is also the chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), or CPN (UML), insisted that the House was dissolved unconstitutionally and that current interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki was also appointed unconstitutionally.

Oli had resigned following the violent Gen-Z protests on September 8 and 9, which left 19 people dead in the police firing. His departure paved the way for the appointment of Karki, a former Chief Justice, as head of the new interim government on September 12.

Karki was appointed not under Article 76 of the Constitution, which provides for the election of a Prime Minister, but under Article 61, which outlines the President's duty to safeguard national unity and ensure the implementation of the Constitution. Immediately after assuming office, she recommended the dissolution of the House to President Ram Chandra Paudel, who dissolved it at midnight on the same day.

Oli stopped short of confirming whether his party would participate in the elections scheduled for March 5 next year but expressed doubt that the government was serious about holding the elections on time. "Holding elections on March 5 next year is the mandate given by the President, but it is not their objective," he said, insisting that there is no alternative to restoring the dissolved House of Representatives to bring the country back under the constitutional system.

"If we do not demand the restoration of the House, and if we try to move forward by accepting and legitimizing unconstitutional and undemocratic measures and actions, the country will be ruined," Oli said.

Although the current government was formed in response to the demands of the Gen-Z protesters, Oli said it does not represent the Nepali people. "I don't know if it represents someone else from somewhere," he said.

He also questioned the appointment of Karki as Prime Minister, citing a prohibitive provision in the Constitution regarding retired Supreme Court judges. Article 132(2) of the Constitution states that no person who has once held the office of Chief Justice or Judge of the Supreme Court shall be eligible for appointment to any government office, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution.

Oli objected to the prohibition imposed on him from travelling outside Kathmandu Valley and abroad, insisting that he would not run away in fear of Prime Minister Karki. As per the recommendation of the High-Level Judicial Inquiry Commission formed to investigate the incidents during the Gen-Z movement, the government has barred him from travelling abroad and leaving Kathmandu. Oli also made it clear that his party would not accept the report of the inquiry commission, accusing it of being biased from the outset.

He said the commission was formed by people who already believed that "KP Oli must be arrested and jailed".

Warning Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal not to act excessively, Oli said that threats of arrest and other actions would not intimidate him. "Running a country is not a joke and should be taken seriously," he said.

--IANS

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