Both the Congress and the UML have started collecting signatures from then-MPs in their respective parties.
What you should know
The Congress-UML are preparing to file a supplementary petition in the court against the dissolution of Parliament by collecting the signatures of the majority of MPs. They are preparing to file a supplementary petition jointly by collecting the signatures of the majority of MPs to strengthen the separate writs filed by the two parties earlier. For that, both the parties have started collecting the signatures of the then MPs in their respective parties.
Congress Chief Whip Shyam Ghimire claimed that 45 MPs had signed the petition by Thursday. The Congress had previously signed 45 MPs. But since the signatures were not used for the process of submitting it to the court, the signing process has started again by making affixing the stamp and seal on Nepali paper.
'We will complete the signatures of the required 63 people by Sunday. And we will go to court with a supplementary petition,' he said. Meanwhile, UML leader Mahesh Bartaula, who is the Chief Whip of the dissolved Parliament, also said that the signatures have started in consultation with both parties. Bartaula said that the supplementary petition is being submitted jointly after obtaining the signatures of 138 MPs.
According to him, he claimed that the signatures of 75 MPs from UML and more than the required 63 MPs from the Congress will be obtained. 138 MPs are required for a majority in the 275-member House of Representatives. ‘We will go after reaching the majority of MPs easily’ Ghimire added, ‘UML has 75 MPs’ signatures, we will do more than the required 63.’
Both parties had previously tried to file a joint writ with the signatures of the majority MPs. Since there were two views within the Congress in favor of restoring the House of Representatives, the majority was not reached after not reaching the signatures of more than 45 people. After that, both parties had separately filed writs in the Supreme Court without going together.
UML’s then Chief Whip of the Parliament Mahesh Bartaula and Whip Sunita Baral had filed the writ on Mangsir 20 based on the institutional decision of the party’s parliamentary party. The Congress had filed the writ on Mangsir 23 with the signatures of 8 MPs including Ghimire and Whip Sushila Thing.
‘In principle, we have already filed a writ on behalf of the parliamentary party.’ "If the court needs to know that the number is this much, the Congress and the UML will take it with them," Bartoula said. "For that, discussions are underway with the two parties and other small parties." According to him, consultations are also underway with the LSP and JSP parties. "We have hoped that 65 MPs will sign from the Congress, and the Congress has also said that it will be done," he added.
From the beginning, the UML has been proactive in both the court and the street, calling the dissolution of the House of Representatives unconstitutional and putting the issue of restoring the parliament as a top priority. On the contrary, the Congress had taken an institutional decision to go for elections, stating that the restoration of the House of Representatives is a matter of constitutional review by the court.
"With the date of the House of Representatives election announced for 21 Falgun, the Congress decides to participate in the elections, concluding that the appropriate way out of the current politics is elections," the decision of the central working committee meeting on Mangsir 6 said.
Addressing the first meeting of the Central Working Committee on Asoj 28, Congress President Deuba had also said that it would be appropriate to go to the election without even mentioning the issue of restoring the House of Representatives. However, after continuous dialogue and discussions with UML President KP Sharma Oli, Congress President Deuba has also started to support the agenda of restoring the House of Representatives taken by UML.
According to a Congress official, the issue that had been postponed in the meantime to not register a writ was reactivated after the meeting between Deuba and Oli. UML President Oli and Deuba had their first direct meeting after the Genji movement on Mangsir 19. Oli had reached his residence in Maharajgunj with his wife Radhika Shakya to meet Deuba.
Two days later, on Mangsir 21, 8 then Congress MPs reached the court with a writ petition. The court kept the writ petition under study and registered it only on the 23rd. Oli and Deuba, who were in the then government coalition, had an agreement to take turns as prime ministers. The seven-point agreement between the two parties, which had Oli's term ending in mid-2004 and Deuba becoming prime minister, ended with the Genji movement.
Oli has been in frequent talks with Congress President Deuba to move forward with the old collaboration. 'Not only for the restoration of the House of Representatives, but also for the two parties to move forward together in the upcoming National Assembly elections on Magh 11, our chairman has made it clear to the Congress that the old agreement has not been broken,' said a UML leader close to Oli. 'Congress President Deuba is in favor of moving forward with the old collaboration.' However, he is not trying to go public due to other factors within the party.'
Leaders close to him say that Deuba became more enthusiastic after talking to Shekhar Koirala, a leader from the other party, on the issue of the restoration of the House of Representatives. Recently, Koirala has also started speaking in favor of reinstatement, saying that the government has not created an environment for elections. In this matter, Congress General Secretary Dhoya Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma are not in favor of reinstatement. Their close MPs have not even signed.
Some leaders within the establishment party and Koirala's party have not signed, saying that elections are not an option. Bimendra Nidhi, a former deputy chairman close to Deuba, said that he is not in favor of reinstatement.
Nidhi says that reinstatement will not provide a solution politically, which will further increase confusion. 'When UML Chairman KP Oli was the Prime Minister with two-thirds of the votes, he has been saying that he resigned because he had nothing in his hand at that time.' There is no point in raising your hand and demanding restoration right there,' Nidhi said, 'This will not provide a political solution and I am not in favor of restoration.'
Some leaders from Shekhar's party have been arguing that the party leadership should not go in the direction of restoration. They argue that if the UML agenda is moved forward, the Congress will become even weaker. Sanjay Gautam, an MP close to Shekhar, said that as an MP, he sees no other option than elections.
'I have not spoken to Shekhar Dai.' But the solution to political issues should be political. A political party should not go in the direction of finding a legal solution,' Gautam said, 'Some leaders are trying to go the way of restoring the parliament. However, I think this is not a political solution. If the party makes a formal decision, it is compulsory to stand in its favor. However, if no decision is made, I will stand in favor of elections. I have not even signed it and I believe that it should not be reinstated.’
