One year passes since Oli dissolved Parliament UML continues to obstruct the House

After the then Prime Minister KP Oli suddenly dissolved the parliament on 20th December (Poush 5, 2077B.S.) last year, the politics of the country had witnessed a whirlpool of instability. The ruling CPN-UML which was in power with a comfortable majority had to shrink to the opposition bench and the largest communist party witnessed a vertical split leading to the formation of the CPN-Unified Socialist. The spill-over effects of the power-tussle among the major political partieswere even surfaced in the apex court. Now the main opposition UML is continuously obstructing the parliament.

Last year’s move by Oli has been termed as regression by the ruling alliances. The day, Poush 5, on which Olli dissolved the Parliament for the first time has been termed as a “Black Day.” The ruling alliances have been observing the day as blak day to caution the general public regarding the possible sabotage against hard earned deomcracy.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling that Oli’s decision to dissolve parliament and go for a fresh mandate was unconstitutional, a series of rifts among the major players of Nepal  continued. The Supreme Court reinstated the parliament saying that it was an unconstitutional move. However, the move disrupted the country’s political climate and also affected the judiciary. Instability including change of central and state governments began. The sovereign parliament has become a hostage.

One year has passed since the dissolution, the parliamentary procedures have not yet resumed to normal. The Oli-led UML has been holding the parliament hostage even after the Supreme Court overturned the dissolution describing it as unconstitutional. Parliament sessions have been continuously affected by the opposition’s obstruction, which is demanding removal of the 14 Lawmakers who formed the Madhav Nepal led CPN-Unified Socialist from the parliament.

The UML’s  obstructions continued even in the tenth session of the House of Representatives which began last Tuesday. The government tabled some ordinances amidst the House obstruction. However, the Speaker adjourned the session till  December 22. If the political situation does not change dramatically, it is certain that the UML will again obstruct the meeting on Tuesday.

Member of the National Assembly and lawyer Radheshyam Adhikari says that the parliamentary practices have been severely hampered since the UML Chairman KP Oli is trying to prove that the parliament he dissolved cannot function. “There is no reason to hold the parliament hostage from a political point of view,” he said. “I will give only one example – the bill. The bill has not been passed for a year now. We have to rule by ordinance. The question is whether this ordinance is meant to govern country.”