Bagmati Province Assembly Meeting Postponed Amidst Political Uncertainty

Hetauda. The Bagmati Province Assembly meeting has been postponed until 4 PM on Tuesday. The meeting, which was called for 1 PM on Monday to discuss Chief Minister Kiran Thapa Magar's vote of confidence, was adjourned until 4 PM on Tuesday by posting a notice. The provincial assembly meeting, which has been repeatedly postponed by posting notices, has finally been adjourned by posting a notice. Provincial Assembly Secretary Ramkumar Poudel issued a notice on Monday stating that the meeting scheduled for 8 PM tonight could not be held at the scheduled time due to special reasons. He stated that the meeting has been rescheduled for 4 PM tomorrow afternoon by the Speaker in accordance with sub-rule (3) of rule 6 of the Provincial Assembly Rules, 2074. The postponement of the Provincial Assembly meeting called for Monday to obtain a vote of confidence from Chief Minister Thapa has created a political and moral crisis for him. While he claims the support of 63 lawmakers, disputes among the ruling coalition parties appear to have put him in a minority. The fact that the meeting called by him through correspondence with the Provincial Assembly Secretariat could not be conducted due to disputes among the coalition parties weakens his claim of a majority. Chief Minister Thapa is under political pressure on one hand and facing a moral crisis on the other. Despite having ample time, Chief Minister Thapa, who was in a hurry to take a vote of confidence from the parliament, found himself unable to face the meeting. The internal conflict within Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) is particularly weighing heavily on him. Although discussions were held in phases led by Deputy Speaker Apsara Chapagain regarding the conduct of Monday's meeting, no concrete conclusion was reached. Opposition parties and RPP lawmakers are demanding that the process of taking a vote of confidence in the Chief Minister should not proceed. The writ petition filed in the Patan High Court, Hetauda Bench, regarding the appointment of the Chief Minister has also put Thapa in further crisis. The Hetauda Bench of the Patan High Court has issued a 'show cause' order against the respondents in the writ petition filed against the appointment of Chief Minister Thapa Magar. Justice Babita Upreti's single bench, after preliminary hearing on Monday, has ordered to submit a written response within 15 days with the basis and evidence as to why the decision to appoint the Chief Minister should not be overturned. Advocates Mohan Prasad Dhakal and RPP Bagmati Province Parliamentary Party Chief Whip Kumari Tamang had filed separate writs of certiorari on August 21, claiming that the Chief Minister's appointment process was unconstitutional. Hearing the writ, the court has summoned both parties for discussion on August 26 regarding the interim order. RPP Divided Into Two Factions Meanwhile, there is a strong dispute within the RPP regarding participation in the government against the central directive. This dispute has divided the RPP into two factions. While about 6 RPP lawmakers appear to be in favor of the government, another 6 lawmakers are in opposition. A letter has also been registered in the Secretariat to take action against and remove the leader of the RPP Bagmati Parliamentary Party, Uddhav Thapa, and 3 ministers in the government (Ghir Bahadur Tamang, Raju Bist, and Rajendra Prajapati) from their posts. In this situation, there is a political and moral crisis regarding whether those lawmakers will vote to support Chief Minister Thapa to sustain the government. The dispute within the CPN (Maoist Centre) has also caused problems for Chief Minister Thapa. Disputes have arisen within the CPN (Maoist Centre) regarding the formation of the government and power-sharing agreements. Due to this dispute, lawmakers including Ganganarayan Shrestha, Urmila Lama, Ruku Chaulagain, Krishna Khanal, Laxman Lampsal, Rajendra Man Shrestha, Om Kumari Shrestha, Radhika Tamang, and Yuvraj Chaulagain from the CPN (Maoist Centre) were likely to be absent from the provincial assembly meeting. To resolve this issue, after phone conversations with each lawmaker from the party's top leadership, some lawmakers returned to Hetauda. The dispute between the ruling coalition parties RPP and CPN (Maoist Centre) created a situation where Chief Minister Thapa, who claimed the support of 63 lawmakers, could not take a vote of confidence. RPP and Congress Warn of Boycott On Monday, the ruling coalition parties UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) adopted a strategy of using force to conduct the meeting. By rescheduling the meeting for 5 PM, the CPN (Maoist Centre) made full efforts to bring its lawmakers to Hetauda by warning them of action. All UML lawmakers were in Hetauda. However, the RPP had warned from the beginning that the meeting would be conducted. Amidst the opposition of 9 lawmakers from the CPN (Maoist Centre) and 6 lawmakers from the RPP, the Congress's warning of boycott stopped Chief Minister Thapa and Deputy Speaker Chapagain, who were trying to conduct the parliament. The Congress had sent a letter to Deputy Speaker Chapagain stating that the matter under consideration in the court should not be discussed in the parliament. The Congress, which left the meeting after expressing its intention to stage a silent boycott during the discussion among party leaders, urged not to conduct the parliament in accordance with Article 191 of the Constitution by sending a letter. Pukar Maharjan, Chief Whip of the Nepali Congress Bagmati Province Parliamentary Party, handed over a letter to Deputy Speaker Apsara Chapagain on Monday, stating that the discussion on the vote of confidence should not proceed as the case against the Chief Minister's appointment is sub judice in the court. He claimed that it would be unconstitutional for the Provincial Assembly to discuss a matter that is sub judice in the court. He warned that the meeting should not be held until the court resolves the issue and that they would boycott the meeting if it was conducted by force. Deputy Speaker Faces Difficulty in Maintaining Impartiality It appears that Deputy Speaker Chapagain will have difficulty maintaining impartiality regarding the issue of Chief Minister Thapa's vote of confidence. The parties have questioned her impartiality, stating that she convened the meeting even after the court's order was stayed, as she is leading the parliamentary proceedings. Parties have accused Chapagain, who became Deputy Speaker after being a proportional representative lawmaker from UML, of trying to move forward in favor of the government. According to Maharjan, the Chief Whip of the Congress Bagmati Province, the Deputy Speaker's role should be independent, but she is under pressure from the government and the Chief Minister. He stated that by ignoring the request of the largest party in the parliament and the opposition party, who sent a letter urging not to hold the parliament, Deputy Speaker Chapagain has lost her independent standing. According to him, Deputy Speaker Chapagain has disregarded Article 191 of the Constitution, which would be contempt of court. Therefore, her role appears questionable. "There is no need for the Deputy Speaker to be in a situation where the meeting has to be postponed repeatedly and the court's order cannot be waited for. The Chief Minister still has 25 days. I don't know why the hurry is. However, it is the Deputy Speaker's job to uphold the dignity of the parliament. She is convening a meeting in a way that jeopardizes her role and makes it difficult to maintain impartiality," Maharjan said. Meanwhile, RPP Chief Whip Tamang warned in the Business Advisory Committee meeting that the meeting could not proceed until the RPP's dispute was resolved. She stated that Deputy Speaker Chapagain is creating a situation where the RPP is being bulldozed. She stated that Deputy Speaker Chapagain has not been able to perform her role impartially, given that the RPP has already taken action against Uddhav Thapa and 4 other lawmakers. She demanded that the lawmakers who have been subjected to immediate action should be disqualified.