Kathmandu, Sep 7: The Koshi Province government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thapa has collapsed. A full bench of three judges of the Supreme Court has annulled the vote of confidence recdeived by Chief Minister Thapa. With this, he has been relieved of his post.
Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, Dr. A full bench of Justices Kumar Chudal and Nahakul Subedi has declared the vote of confidence taken by Chief Minister Thapa on Bhadau 4 as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has also issued an order to make UML parliamentary party leader Hikmat Karki the chief minister after thapa’s vote of confidence was rejected.
According to Article 168 (3) of the Constitution of Nepal, the Supreme Court has ordered the appointment of Hikmat Karki as the Chief Minister. Karki is set to become the chief minister for the second time as the leader of the largest party in the state assembly after the government failed to form a majority government.
A single bench of Justice Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada of the Supreme Court had issued an interim order asking the Koshi province government not to take any decision of long-term importance on Bhadau 7 . Justice Khatiwada’s interim order had made the government caretaker, staying the implementation of the decision, saying the vote of confidence taken by Chief Minister Thapa could not be considered as constitutional.
During the vote of confidence, senior member Israil Mansoori, who was running the State Assembly in the role of Speaker, gave a vote of confidence to Thapa at the time of correcting the vote. Deputy Speaker Srijana Danuwar was absent at the time of taking the vote of confidence. Similarly, the responsibility of running the house came to the hands of ruling Nepali Congress lawmaker Mansuri after other members of the presidium who were in the role of running the house on behalf of UML and RPP also applied for sick leave.
Mansuri, who presided over the house, also cast his vote as the parties in the ruling coalition had 47 seats, taking the responsibility of speaker would be less than one vote. The UML immediately protested in the House after Speaker Mansuri cast his vote. UML parliamentary party leader Hikmat Kumar Karki presented the uml’s voice in the House as a writ petition in the Supreme Court. Karki had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court in August last year, demanding cancellation of the vote of confidence given by Chief Minister Thapa, saying the role of the Speaker should be neutral.
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