KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli is in the midst of a political and legal crisis. Following parliament's dissolution, the Supreme Court dismissed Prime Minister Oli's request to expand his cabinet, causing political and legal instability. Prime Minister Oli, who is also the party's chairman, has been irritated by the Supreme Court's successive orders, which come at a time when the UML is riven by internal divisions. The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Oli's request to expand the Council of Ministers to include the Janata Samajwadi Party's Mahanta-Rajendra group (JSP).
The prime minister increased the cabinet by 20 ministers in two waves after dismissing parliament and announcing the election date. He was considering whether or not to increase the size of the cabinet. On Tuesday, a bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabra and Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana issued an interim injunction prohibiting the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, and Ministers of State from working after Parliament was dissolved.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the current Prime Minister does not have the authority to expand the Council of Ministers, citing Article 77930, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which states that if the Prime Minister's position becomes vacant, the same Council of Ministers will continue to function until a new Council of Ministers is formed. At the same time, Oli is confronting a moral dilemma in order to remain in power.
Five of Oli's judgements have already been found unlawful and annulled by the court. Four UML MPs who gave Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi a vote of confidence in Karnali were rehabilitated by the Supreme Court, but the Organizing Committee for the 10th National General Convention refused to recognize the UML as an official organization. This produced a situation in which the Madhav Kumar Nepal group's demands within the UML needed to be fulfilled. Within the party, Oli was experiencing a political crisis.
On March 7, a single bench of Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut ordered the four ousted parliamentarians to be reinstated, as well as invalidating Oli's founding of the 10th National General Convention Organizing Committee. After the Oli group filed a petition, an order was issued summoning both parties to a meeting without issuing an interim order during the hearing. This has exacerbated Prime Minister Oli's predicament.
