Gandaki on the path of the cell

In Gandaki, there is no majority to form a government in favor of the coalition, excluding the incumbent speaker. Speaker is a position that should be politically neutral and impartial. In Koshi state, when the parties gathered the support of the speaker and formed the government by force, the Supreme Court corrected it by explaining the same. Ignoring the same example of the Supreme Court, the government has been formed in Gandaki by force. The matter is almost certain to go to court. A government has been formed in Koshi with all the constitutionally possible provisions within a year. Gandaki is also likely to go through the same situation when RPP remains neutral.

A coalition government with a clear majority was running in Gandaki until the power coalition at the center was reshuffled. Surendraraj Pandey of Congress was the Chief Minister as per the agreement of the then alliance. The third largest party Maoist was also in the government. After the Congress-Maoist alliance broke up at the center and a new equation was formed, the Maoists withdrew their support to the Chief Minister of Gandaki. The then Chief Minister Pandey resigned from the post after the efforts to garner a vote of confidence were not successful. After that, UML parliamentary party leader Khagraj Adhikari was appointed as the Chief Minister. But in this process, what was wrong in Koshi province was repeated.

Congress parliamentary party leader Uddhav Thapa in Koshi was appointed the Chief Minister by submitting a majority claim with the signature of the then Speaker Baburam Gautam. The Supreme Court dissolved the Thapa-led government by establishing the principle that 'a person holding the post of Speaker cannot claim a separate additional or dual role as a member of the Provincial Assembly'. Contrary to the same precedent, in Gandaki, the official submitted the claim of majority by showing the number of party seats including the Speaker for the formation of the government according to Article 168 (2) of the Constitution. Provincial chief Dilliraj Bhatt accepted the claim and appointed the officer as chief minister on Sunday. It has raised questions on the role of the provincial chief.

The Speaker's signature was submitted in Koshi, the Speaker was also added to the list of supporters in Gandaki. Signing or endorsement in any form is contrary to Supreme Court orders. In the order given by the Supreme Court regarding the Koshi region, it has been clearly stated that 'the post of Speaker should remain politically neutral and impartial, no political favoritism of any kind should be maintained'. Based on this example, the opposition party of Gandaki Provincial Assembly is preparing to go to court.

If the court issues the same order as before, the officer-led government will be dissolved. In such a situation, the former Chief Minister Pandey as the parliamentary party leader of the largest party can be appointed as the Chief Minister according to Article 168 (3) of the Constitution. But even then he has to take a vote of confidence within 30 days. Even if the Supreme Court approves the appointment of the officer, a vote of confidence must be taken within 30 days. The Speaker cannot vote in favor of anyone until there is a tie. The Speaker of the Assembly was asked to resign to pass a vote of confidence in Koshi. However, the vote of confidence was not ensured due to the tussle over who would preside over the state assembly meeting. Finally the government was formed according to Article 168 (5) which means Koshi is now in the middle election deal. Gandaki is also now looking towards the same path.

MP Rajeev Gurung (Deepak Manange) who has a gangster background is taking advantage of the trend of getting a majority in Gandaki. Manange, who was elected unopposed as an independent in the state assembly election, joined the United Socialist Party only last November with aspirations of becoming a minister. He became a minister in the Pandey-led government three weeks ago after announcing that he had left the party. After Pandey resigned, the equation changed and Manange also became a minister in the Adhikari-led government. In the previous state assembly, Manange, who was elected as an independent, changed the equation and became a minister three times. This kind of working style of political parties that spoils the 'opportunist' trend is discrediting the parliamentary system and the federal system.

Last year, the Koshi state government could not come up with a budget through the regular process due to the power cycle. As the process of formation and dissolution of the government went on for months, the issues of public interest, good governance and prosperity were overshadowed. If the political parties do not act wisely in time, there is a risk of repeating the same fate in Gandaki this year as well. Due to the unnecessary interference of the central leadership of political parties, complications have been created in Koshi and Gandaki states. This is also increasing the frustration of the common citizens. Political parties should be serious about this. The act of holding the central government hostage by not allowing the provincial level to build a government according to the actual situation should be stopped immediately.