A defiant Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday accused the Supreme Court of “deliberately” passing a verdict in favour of the Opposition parties and said the judgement will have a “long-term impact” on the multi-party parliamentary system in the country. Addressing the nation, 69-year old Oli also underlined that despite being “the people’s choice”, he is resigning from the post as the apex court has given an order to appoint Nepali Congress chief and Opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as the prime minister in his place.
“It is the duty of players to play the game. The referee is there to maintain fair play, not to help any one team to win,” Oli said speaking in Nepali language. He accused the apex court of “deliberately” passing the verdict in favour of the Opposition parties.
A five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana on Monday reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for a second time in five months and also ordered the appointment of Deuba as prime minister by 5pm on Tuesday. President Bidya Devi Bhandari had dissolved the 275-member lower house for the second time in five months on May 22 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli and announced snap elections on November 12 and November 19.
“The terms and language used in the verdict has alarmed all those who believe in a multi-party system. The order has violated the system of check and balance (of power between state organs). This is just a temporary joy. It’ll have a long-term impact,” Oli was quoted as saying by My Republica newspaper. Stating that his party will implement the apex court verdict, Oli insisted that it is sure to destroy the party system and multi-party democracy. Referring to a previous verdict by the apex court that overturned the then Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives, Oli said that the country had been drawn into instability and uncertainty due to the court’s verdict back then.
He said the court’s “misinterpretation” of Article 76 (5) is sure to lead the country toward a party-less system. “It is sure to ignite malpractices and deteriorate discipline. The court has crossed its jurisdiction and decided over political matters, he added.
He also blamed the court for “excessive judicial activism”, saying it may lead to the deterioration of the reliability of the court. “I have not been ousted because of the people’s mandate but because of the court’s mandamus, he said. He also claimed that a series of conspiracies were hatched to oust him from the government.
Oli, who was heading a minority government after losing a trust vote in the House, has repeatedly defended his move to dissolve the House of Representatives, saying some leaders of his party were attempting to form a “parallel government”.
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