25th Poush, Kathmandu. In the first meeting of the House of Representatives held on Monday after the general election, Nepali Congress Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba said that he will play the role of constructive opposition.
Deuba, who gave a brief address according to his own nature, promised to stay in the opposition by focusing on the people’s issue.
Deuba said in his seven-minute speech, ‘May this term of the House of Representatives make a special contribution to the protection, implementation and strengthening of the federal democratic system’. From the constitutional system, parliamentary practice and political point of view, such a commitment of Speaker Deuba is expected.
Because CPN-UML, Maoist Center, Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RASP), Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), Janmaat Party and Civil Liberties have formed a joint government.
With the support of 169 MPs including two independent MPs, Chairman of Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has become the new Prime Minister. In other words, despite winning 89 seats and becoming the largest power in the House of Representatives, the Congress has become the main opposition party. The role of the Congress is also not unclear as the constitution has made clear arrangements about the main opposition parties.
But Speaker Deuba and the leaders close to him are doing their homework exactly opposite to the constitutional system and parliamentary system of the main opposition parties. According to one of the leaders, Chairman Deuba, who has expressed that he will stand on the rostrum and play the role of a constructive opposition, is ready to give a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Prachanda in his aspirations for a share in the constitutional positions.
Although Prime Minister Prachanda is set to take a vote of confidence at 11 am on Tuesday, the fact that the Congress did not make a clear decision until Monday evening also helps to infer that Deuba has such greed. Apart from this, the activities and expressions of the Congress leaders can also be assumed to have the intention of giving a vote of confidence to Bhagwanda Mile Prachanda in the top constitutional posts.
According to high sources, Deuba and the leaders close to him have chosen the post of President or Speaker. Senior Congress leader Ramchandra Poudel had publicly revealed that Prachanda should participate in the distribution of constitutional posts by giving a vote of confidence.
In a program held in the capital on Poush 19, leader Paudel argued that there is a need for national consensus for the country. ‘Political, economic, social and humanitarian problems are surrounding us here’, Paudel said that day.
Soon after, the spokesperson Dr. Prakasharan Mahat had hinted that the Congress would not remain silent. UML president KP Sharma Oli commented on the incident where Chairman Deuba said ‘we will come back’ as an attempt to return to power.
Deuba is ready to make the vote of confidence a matter of transaction, even looking at the crisis that the Congress has to bear due to the changed political equation and the possible future results. Because when the Maoist Center, which cooperated in the three-level elections, changes its alliance and forms a government with the UML, it is losing the posts of president, vice president, speaker and deputy speaker along with the government of the union and seven provinces.
The Congress leaders are well aware of the fact that the Congress should be deprived of political appointments from provincial office bearers. As some Congress leaders are of the opinion that a vote of confidence should be given to avert the same crisis, Chairman Deuba is confused.
Irresponsible greed of mature party
Prime Minister Prachanda has also tried to attract votes without understanding the signals of the Congress leaders. On Monday evening, Prime Minister Prachanda reached his residence to meet Chairman Deuba. Congress leaders have said that Deuba assured to vote of confidence in that meeting.
Before that, in the meeting of the Maoist Center Parliamentary Party held on Monday morning, Prachanda had indicated the possibility of getting the votes of the Congress and the Unified Socialists. ‘We have talked to all the parties. We have also spoken with the United Socialist Party, we have appealed to the Nepali Congress and other parties to give a vote of confidence,” Prime Minister Prachanda said in the meeting.
But looking at the position of the power alliance, it is not easy for Prime Minister Prachanda alone to get a vote of confidence in the transaction of constitutional positions. Because UML has played a key role in making Prachanda, the chairman of the Maoist center who won only 32 seats, become the prime minister. With 79 seats, the current power equation has been formed as the UML became the power of the Congress.
Also, Prime Minister Prachanda alone cannot agree on the distribution of shares with the Congress by celebrating the 20-seat RSVP, 14-seat RPP, 12-seat JSP, 6-seat Janamat Party and 4-seat civil liberties. If they do that, it is clear that the current power coalition will be in crisis from the beginning.
UML Propaganda Department Chief Prithvisubba Gurung says that no vote of confidence will be taken from Congress with conditions. ‘If they give unconditional vote of confidence, it’s a different matter, but we don’t ask for votes with conditions’ Deputy Secretary General Gurung says, ‘We don’t need the vote of Congress, why ask for it?’ He says that although 138 MPs are needed to form the government, since Prime Minister Prachanda is sure to get 169 votes, he should not take a conditional vote of confidence from the Congress.
Constitutionalist Bipin Adhikari also says that giving a vote of confidence to Prachanda is not appropriate both from the point of view of parliamentary system and constitutionalism. “It is not the parliamentary system to end the space for the opposition and go to the government’s partnership, that way will not even protect constitutionalism,” says the official. The constitution itself does not envisage such a practice.
But Congress leaders are arguing that there is a precedent of giving vote of confidence to Manmohan Adhikari even in 051. At that time, 103 seats were needed to form the government, but UML won only 88 seats. Adhikari ran the government for nine months because Congress won 83 seats and gave a vote of confidence.
But the leaders say that such practice was unsuccessful at that time. Mukund Neupane, who was active at that time to get the Congress vote for Manmohan, says, ‘The vote of confidence was taken on the condition that the decision made by the Congress government would not be reversed, but when the Congress withdrew from the agreement, our government became a minority.’
Manmohan was given a vote of confidence by the Congress on the condition that he would not reverse the decisions made by Girija Prasad Koirala who became the Prime Minister after 048. Girija, Sushil and Govindraj Joshi from Congress were present to make such an agreement, while Madhav Nepal, KP Oli and Mukund Neupane were from UML. But Neupane says that when the Congress brought a no-confidence motion contrary to that secret agreement, it became the basis for the fall of Manmohan’s government.
Analyst officials say that Nepal has never needed a government with the consent of the President. Nepal did not need a national government yesterday, it does not need it today, it does not need it tomorrow. Coordination is on the agenda’, he says, ‘in order to shoulder the governmental responsibility, there must be opposition and there must be a ruling party.’
Even looking at the governments that have been formed so far, there is no precedent that the government made up of all parties has given the country an exit. To some extent, even after the elections in 2064 and 2070, including the obligation to issue a constitution by consensus, all parties did not form a government. However, the constitution was issued with the agreement of the parties.
Now, there is no special situation like when the constitution was promulgated, but a normal government is being formed. At such a time, it is not appropriate for the Congress to give a vote of confidence without being part of the main opposition, according to a constitutionalist official. An official of the Congress argues that even if he does not get a share in the constitutional post, he will work with a vote of confidence to break the power coalition led by Prachanda.
According to that official, the Congress will give a vote of confidence to Prachanda, who agreed with Oli as Prime Minister for five years. Which will not only bring chaos to the ruling coalition, Congress will withdraw its support and push Prachanda to the process of taking a vote of confidence. In other words, the vote of confidence that the Congress is about to give now will prepare the basis for taking the country back to instability.
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