KP Oli was the Prime Minister from 3 February 2074 to 28 July 2078. He entered power as the powerful chairman and prime minister of the CPN (Maoist) with a two-thirds majority. The then Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) had taken over the leadership of the state government and most of the local levels in six of the seven provinces.
However, in the last three years, he has tried to run his own government by abiding by the constitution, law, and order. They violated the democratic norms and freedoms provided by the constitution. He tried to curb the autonomy of the constitutional body.
During Oli's tenure, parliament and the media have always been his stars. Similarly, he always looked at the intellectual class and civil society with a squint.
Parliament dissolved twice
The House of Representatives has been dissolved twice in the last seven months alone. However, both times it has been reinstated by the Supreme Court. The House of Representatives was dissolved on 5 December 2077 and the date of the election was announced on 17 and 27 April. However, declaring it unconstitutional, the Supreme Court re-established the House of Representatives on 11 February 2077.
Again, the House of Representatives was dissolved at midnight on May 22 and the date of the election was fixed on 26 November and 3 December. The Supreme Court rejected this saying that it was against the constitution. And because he could not get a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives, KP Oli was disqualified from presenting the PM's claim. Attempts to dissolve the parliament twice seem to have led KP Oli to disgust the current parliament.
Addressing the National Assembly on 6 June 2077, Oli had pointed out the need for a new concept of running the state. Oli had said, "Our parliamentary practice also has different practices in the world. Thotra practice is not learned. We are in a very transitional phase in the principles of economics, in matters of economic relations, in matters of running a society, in matters of running a state, in matters of running a government. Now it is necessary to move forward with a new concept. ' Oli told a story to confirm that the parliamentary system was weak.
'A man was swimming in the river with his shoes off and his feet above his knees. He later wrote it down. Others studied and learned that. A little behind became a bridge. He went to a scholar who had read the written scripture and remembered the scripture. As written, he took off his shoes and started swimming. The car drove back a little. When he got in the car, he took off his shoes. What's the use of it Therefore, it is important to understand the scriptures according to context and time. '
Parliament did not get business
When the House of Representatives was dissolved on January 20, Oli's main argument was that parliament did not support the government. However, the Supreme Court did not agree with Oli's argument and annulled his dissolution.
Oli then tried to discredit the restored parliament. The first meeting of the House of Representatives was held on 23 February 2077 BS as per the order of the Supreme Court to convene a meeting of the House of Representatives within 13 days.
In the first meeting, the ordinance on the Constitutional Council was introduced amidst the obstruction of the main opposition Nepali Congress. Other ordinances could not be introduced. After that, the leaders of the Oli faction of the then ruling party UML did not agree to put the issue of an ordinance on the agenda of the parliament.
Thus, the government did not give business to the parliament. No bill was passed. The parliamentarians were not ready to hold a question-and-answer session with the prime minister and ministers. There is a practice of conducting a Q&A program only in coordination with the Minister and the Prime Minister. The people's representatives in the parliament have not been able to make effective use of even special and zero time.
At that time, the chief whip of the Congress parliamentary party, Bal Krishna Khan, had said, "The budget session ended unnaturally and the House of Representatives was dissolved when the winter session was called." After the judiciary has restored the parliament, the government does not seem to have the mentality to move forward by addressing the parliament seriously. Because the ruling party has not given any business so far.
Dev Gurung, chief whip of the CPN-Maoist's parliamentary party, said the government had "crippled" the reconstituted House of Representatives. He had said, "In the parliamentary tradition, when the parliament starts, all the parties have good wishes." The government was not ready for this either. Other businesses did not. The house was crippled because it could not run its own business and could not run its own house.
Finally, the reconstituted House of Representatives ended on April 20 without passing a single bill. And the government reiterated the precedent of abruptly ending parliamentary sessions. The sixth session of the parliament ended in the same way as the seventh. A meeting of the House of Representatives was convened on July 7. The convention was concluded by the President on the recommendation of the government.
Speaker expelled from Baluwatar
The relationship between Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota and Prime Minister Oli also shows the relationship between the executive and the legislature. Speaker Sapkota did not get a chance to read out any letter regarding the end of the convention in the House of Representatives.
Generally, when convening and concluding a parliamentary session, the government has a tradition of holding formal or informal discussions with the Speaker and the major political parties. As far as important bills or any contentious issues have to be settled, the process is also discussed.
Moreover, as a business in Parliament is declining, it is parliamentary practice and tradition for the Speaker to suggest to the government whether to give 'business' or end the session. However, during Oli's tenure, such practices and traditions were broken.
The main reason behind this is that the relationship between Speaker Sapkota Oli is not good. After Krishna Bahadur Mahara left the post, Oli tried to make a person close to him the speaker. However, Sapkota became the speaker after the Prachanda-Madhav Nepal faction within the then CPN (Maoist) refused.
In a meeting with those close to him, Speaker Sapkota says, 'I am a character disliked by Oli. He never helped me. ' After all, Sapkota could not stay in the Speaker's residence in Baluwatar, which has been used by the Speakers for decades.
After this, the Prime Minister-Speaker came to the surface of the conflict. Sapkota went to the Supreme Court seeking revocation of his appointment as per the ordinance on the Constitutional Council. After this, it was natural for KP Oli to be 'on fire' when the speaker called law practitioners, former speakers, and former prime ministers, and party leaders to discuss the dissolution of the parliament.
In a program organized in Kathmandu on 14 July 2078, Oli asked Speaker Sapkota, "Doing anything just because I am Prachanda's cadre?" Had publicly criticized.
Speaker Sapkota also held a meeting and interacted against Prime Minister Oli's move at the Parliament House. Pointing to that, Oli had said, "Is it to hold a gathering of so-called intellectuals, the interaction of civil society, and a press conference in the parliament building?" Is that why he was hired? What Prachanda said as soon as he became Prachanda's cadre, will it be above the law? '
Question and answer session with the Prime Minister only once
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Oli participated only once in a direct question and answer session with the Prime Minister in Parliament. That day is 4 January 2075.During the question and answer session with the Prime Minister that day, 10 lawmakers had directly questioned the Prime Minister. After that, the MPs never got to ask the Prime Minister again.
The Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives, on the other hand, envisage a direct question and answer session with the Prime Minister twice a month. Oli, who has been the prime minister for 40 months, did not give priority to question and answer as per the provisions of the rules.
The fact that Oli participated in the Q&A only once in a period of 40 months has raised questions over the justification of the Q&A system. Which is a reflection of Oli's distaste for parliament. However, direct question and answer sessions with the ministers were held in Parliament.
Attendance in Parliamentary Committee - Zero
In 40 months, KP Oli did not attend the parliamentary committee meetings even once. It is not that they did not go without being invited by the parliamentary committee, they did not even go to some of the committees.
According to Laxman Lal Karna, the then chairman of the parliamentary hearing committee, the committee headed by him kept urging the prime minister to come to the committee continuously for more than a year, waiting for the prime minister to come and stopped calling when he got tired.
The parliamentary committees that invite the Prime Minister to the meeting include the Hearing Committee, the State Management, and Good Governance Committee, and the International Relations Committee. However, no parliamentary committee was able to bring Oli to its committee discussions.
According to Laxman Lal Karna, chairman of the parliamentary hearing committee, the committee headed by him wanted to discuss with the Prime Minister on the issue of "Proportional Inclusion in Nepal, Appointment of Officials in Constitutional Organs".
"We have been waiting for almost a year, but he never came," Karna told online news on 11 December 2077. "He doesn't say no, but he doesn't come because he is busy."
As soon as various bills and issues related to the Prime Minister came up in the State Management Committee of the Parliament, some lawmakers including Jhapat Rawal and Maheshwar Jung Gahatraj would have proposed that the Prime Minister should be called. Committee chairperson Shashi Shrestha replied that she would try. However, neither Shrestha's efforts nor the members of the State Management Committee succeeded in getting the Prime Minister in the committee.
three examples
A: On 18 September 2075, there was a discussion in the Development and Technology Committee of the Parliament on the appointment of the Managing Director of Nepal Telecom.
After criticism that the government had appointed a managing director without competition, the committee called the then Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gokul Baskota for a discussion and decided to appoint him as the managing director of Nepal Telecom based on competition. However, then Minister Bascotta immediately changed the direction of the committee.
"I have a disagreement," said Kalyani Kumari Khadka, chairperson of the committee. After the objection of the Minister, the Committee decided to remove the issue of appointment of Managing Director and direct to bring BTS Tower in operation as soon as possible.
Two: The Parliamentary Party of the then Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) held a meeting at the Parliament House, Naya Baneshwor on 4 September 2076. Addressing the meeting, Oli complained that the parliamentary committees had given instructions to embarrass the government.
On that day, Oli had said, "Parliamentary committees have embarrassed the government. Parliament should monitor the government, not control it." Parliament will see to it that the government goes in the right direction. '
On that day, Oli warned the chairpersons of the parliamentary committees not to give instructions that would embarrass the government.
Three: 30 December 2077 at the then Urban Development and Development and Technology Committee Krishna Gopal Shrestha had received national priority projects in progress account in NA.Nepali subject minister to discuss infrastructure.
Participating in the discussion, Minister Shrestha briefed about the progress of development projects. Answered the question of the MPs. Leaving the meeting room, at last, he had said, "Don't have strict instructions, like the State Management Committee."
MP Ganesh Pahadi greeted Minister Shrestha and said, "We are not like the State Management Committee." Special Minister Shrestha has targeted the State Management Committee's directive: Additional Inspector General (AIG) post in Nepal Police.
On 24 December 2077, the State Management Committee of the Parliament had directed the government not to add an AIG post in the Nepal Police. However, defying the directive given by the committee, the government promoted DIG Bishwaraj Pokharel to the added AIG on December 10.
The directive was given by the State Management Committee after a two-hour discussion was made 'useless' by the government within two days. The government not only disobeyed the directive of the parliamentary committee not to add AIG, but also the directive of the State Management Committee to cancel the advertisement of the Public Service Commission. Probably, Minister Shrestha had given the message to the Development Committee that the same happens when the government gives instructions against its wishes.
On 15 June 2076, the Public Service had issued advertisements for 9,161 employees in various positions. The application deadline was June 30. The State Management Committee, which met on May 10, directed to cancel the advertisement issued by the Public Service Commission. However, the committee's directive was not implemented. The government rejected the committee's directive, claiming that the advertisement was following the constitution.
Parliament was deceived in the constitutional appointment
Another incident in which Oli showed distaste for parliament is the constitutional appointment of more than 50 officials without a parliamentary hearing. Unable to settle the internal strife of the then CPN (Maoist), Oli brought an ordinance on the Constitutional Council on 30 December 2077 so that the three-member Constitutional Council could meet and decide.
Immediately after the meeting, he recommended the appointment of more than three dozen officials in the constitutional bodies including the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Election Commission, and National Human Rights Commission.
Some expected the parliamentary hearing committee to block the appointment. He was sent to the parliament for hearing only after the dissolution of the House of Representatives on December 20. After 45 days, they were sworn in by the President.
Prime Minister Oli again brought an ordinance of the same nature on April 6, 2008. While the first ordinance was being opposed, the disputed appointment was continued by bringing the second ordinance.
According to the second ordinance, a meeting of the Constitutional Council was held on April 10 and recommended the appointment of 20 officials in various constitutional bodies including the Public Service Commission in the presence of three people. He was also sworn in by the President after 45 days without a parliamentary hearing.
Article 284 provides for a Constitutional Council to recommend the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, judges, members of the Judicial Council, heads of constitutional bodies, or office bearers.
The Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, consists of the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairperson of the National Assembly, the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Similarly, Article 292 provides for a pre-appointment parliamentary hearing. By rejecting these provisions of the constitution, Oli had given the message that constitutional appointments can be made even without a parliamentary hearing. This widened the gap between parliament and the government.
Attempts to rule by ordinance
During the 40 months of Oli's rule, many attempts were made to rule by ordinance. To some extent, the Oli government also succeeded in running the country through ordinances.
Less than two days after the last dissolution of the House of Representatives on 7 June 2078, Oli issued an ordinance amending the Citizenship Act. (The Supreme Court has issued an interim order not to implement the ordinance.)
It is to be recalled that the Citizens' Bill has been in Parliament since 22 July 2075 BS. The Committee on State Management and Good Governance of the Parliament has discussed the bill and passed it on July 22, 2008, and submitted it to the House of Representatives.
The Oli government has brought many other ordinances. The Oli government, which did not give any business to the House of Representatives after the House of Representatives was revived by the order of the Supreme Court on March 26, ended the convention and brought an ordinance.
The last time Oli brought a dozen ordinances that are still active.
The ordinance made to amend the Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights, and Procedures) Act, 2066 BS
Ordinance relating to oaths
The ordinance made to provide for the management of the COVID-19 crisis
The ordinance made to regulate acid and other hazardous chemicals
The ordinance made to amend the Social Security Act, 2075 BS
The ordinance made to amend the Nepal Police and State Police (Operation, Supervision, and Coordination) Act, 2076 BS
The ordinance made to amend the Drugs Act 2035
The ordinance made to amend the Commission for Investigation, Verification, and Reconciliation of Disappeared Persons Act, 2071
An ordinance to amend some acts against sexual violence
An ordinance made to amend some acts related to criminal offenses and criminal procedure
An ordinance made to revive the previous provisions of the Act by repealing some ordinances
National Medical Education Ordinance
Railway Ordinance
The ordinance made to amend the Political Parties Act, 2073 (withdrawn)
