President Poudel and Prime Minister Karki had a disagreement over the vacant nominated seat in the National Assembly, for which the names of three people - Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal, President Poudel's daughter Avagya Poudel, and Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal - came up for discussion.
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Recommendation for National Assembly Member Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal's name has been on 'hold' by President Ram Chandra Poudel for a week. Prime Minister Sushila Karki had recommended Aryal's name in the cabinet meeting held on Chaitra 1.
Prime Minister Karki has proposed to make Aryal a member of the National Assembly 'to repay' him for helping her to succeed in the 'mandate' given to the post-Gen-G rebellion government to hold elections within six months.
The cabinet meeting has recommended Aryal for appointment as a member of the National Assembly in accordance with Article 86 (2) (b) of the Constitution. There is a constitutional provision for the President to nominate three people, including at least one woman, on the recommendation of the government in the 59-member National Assembly. Among the three nominated MPs, one seat is vacant after Bamdev Gautam resigned from the parliament to contest the election to the House of Representatives. Aryal has been recommended in his place.
President Poudel and Prime Minister Karki had a disagreement over the vacant nominated seats in the National Assembly, for which the names of three Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal, President Poudel's daughter Avagya Poudel, and Home Minister Aryal came up for discussion
Prime Minister Karki is unhappy that the President has 'held' the government's recommendation. Prime Minister Karki has openly expressed her dissatisfaction to those who reached Baluwatar and thanked them for the successful election. She also expressed this dissatisfaction with constitutional experts who reached Baluwatar on Saturday. Senior advocates Radheshyam Adhikari, Bipin Adhikari, Purnaman Shakya, Chandrakant Gyawali, Ram Narayan Bidari and other legal professionals had reached Baluwatar on Saturday. Similarly, this matter was also raised in a meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Ravi Lamichhane on Sunday. President Lamichhane had made it clear that he and the party had no objection to the decision made by this government.
‘The government is the government, it can work until the last day, we have no objection to the decisions made by this government,’ a Baluwatar source said, quoting Lamichhane, ‘We have high respect for the government that has completed this historic task, so we support the steps of this government and we will also support its decisions.’
Prime Minister Karki had said in a meeting in Baluwatar that she had accepted the public opinion after the elections on 21 Falgun and made the recommendation in consultation. A senior advocate who attended the meeting on Saturday said that she had asked Lamichhane for his approval and made the recommendation before appointing him to the vacant National Assembly post.
Quoting the Prime Minister, the senior advocate said, “The President said that the Chief Secretary should bring the comments for the vacant National Assembly member and send it with the name blank, I will add the name and approve the recommendation.” Karki said that the President said that he did not say anything twice, but the third time, he said that it was morally and legally impossible to recommend leaving a blank space since he was a lawyer and then the Prime Minister. “If there is any name, send it, I will discuss it in the Council of Ministers, I will also ask Gen-G and the party that came first in the election,” he replied, quoting Karki, adding, “The President had given the name of his daughter.”
Earlier, President Bidya Devi Bhandari had rejected Sher Bahadur Deuba’s recommendation. The recommendation made by the Deuba-led electoral government in 2074 BS was ‘held’ by the then President Bhandari. When the UML-Maoist alliance was about to leave the government after winning the election, Deuba had recommended Chandani Joshi, Krishna Prasad Poudel and Gopal Basnet for nomination as members of the National Assembly. After the election, the government led by KP Sharma Oli withdrew their names and recommended Ram Narayan Bidari, Yubaraj Khatiwada and Bimala Poudel Rai, which was approved by President Bhandari.
Baburam Kunwar, legal advisor to the President's Office, said that the government's recommendation is still under study. Constitutional law experts say that the constitution does not give the president the right to block or 'hold' the government's recommendation. Constitutional expert Bipin Adhikari said that the constitution gives the president the right to approve the government's recommendation, but does not have the right to withdraw, hold or reject it.
