KATHMANDU, Feb 6: Both houses of parliament will ratify the ordinances, which the President issued on the government’s recommendation, today. The House of Representatives and the National Assembly will submit six ordinances to their respective meetings for approval.
The House of Representatives will meet at 1:00 PM, while the National Assembly will convene at 1:15 PM on Thursday. Both houses have added the ordinances to their tentative agenda for decision-making.
The ruling coalition of the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML holds a majority in the House of Representatives but falls short in the National Assembly. Upendra Yadav-led Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSP) plays a decisive role in securing the required majority for endorsement of ordinances. However, JSP has been undecided whether to support or reject the ordinances. The party has called a parliamentary meeting on Thursday to finalize its stance.
In the 59-member National Assembly, the NC holds 16 seats, and the UML has 10, bringing their total to 26. Securing a majority requires the support of 30 members. The ruling coalition claims that nominated members Bamdev Gautam and Anjan Shakya will vote in favor of the ordinances, raising their total support to 28. The government still needs two more votes to secure a majority.
The ruling coalition includes one lawmaker from the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP), which is expected to vote in favor of the ordinances, raising the total support to 29. The Rastriya Janamorcha, which holds one seat, has already announced its decision to vote against the ordinances. The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has three lawmakers in the National Assembly.
If JSP does not make a decision, only 29 members will support the ordinances, increasing the chances of their rejection. To ensure full attendance, the ruling coalition has directed all its lawmakers to be present for the vote. Krishna Bahadur Rokaya, the chief whip of the NC in the National Assembly, confirmed that the coalition has issued a whip for mandatory attendance.
A source claims that Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSP-NEPALepal) has started internal negotiations to demand the annulment of the party split that resulted in the formation of the Ashok Rai-led Janata Samajbadi Party.
In April last year, Ashok Rai split from Upendra Yadav’s JSP-NEPAL and formed a new Janata Samajbadi Party. The Election Commission granted official registration to Rai’s party. However, JSP-NEPAL Chair Upendra Yadav filed a petition in the Supreme Court, arguing that the formation of the new party was illegal.
The Supreme Court has ordered the status quo regarding the formation of the JSP for now. Yadav is actively working with the ruling party to create an environment that could lead the court to issue an annulment order.
Meanwhile, JSP-Nepal is dissatisfied with the Janamat Party's acquisition of the Chief Minister's position in Madhesh Province. The demand for the Chief Minister's position is reportedly part of JSP-Nepal's agenda. However, JSP-Nepal is studying the matter through a working committee behind the scenes. The party's executive committee formed this working committee to review the ordinances. The study's findings will be presented at JSP-Nepal's parliamentary party meeting on Thursday morning. Based on the report, JSP-Nepal's National Assembly member Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav said the party will decide whether to approve or reject the ordinances.
The ruling parties, NC and CPN-UML, have proposed amending the constitution to ensure that the National Assembly Chair and Vice President positions go to JSP-Nepal in order to bring them on board. The current Vice President, Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, is politically aligned with JSP-Nepal. However, JSP-Nepal has raised other demands, questioning whether the constitutional amendment will occur before 2084 BS.
A source revealed that the ruling parties must address these issues to secure JSP-Nepal 's support. JSP-Nepal is expected to vote in favor of the ordinances only if the ruling parties take the initiative on these matters. In the House of Representatives, 58 members, and in the National Assembly, 20 members, have filed motions to reject all six ordinances. However, JSP-Nepal has not filed any motion to reject the ordinances in either house.
Meanwhile, Speaker Devraj Ghimire discussed with the chief whips and whips of the parties in parliament on Wednesday about how to manage the 50 motions to reject the ordinances. On Thursday, the meeting will present proposals for voting on the rejection motions and for approving the ordinances.
The National Assembly will also present proposals for voting on the rejection motions and for approval. The first meeting of parliament, held on January 31, saw the presentation of the six ordinances issued by President Ramchandra Paudel on the government's recommendation.
CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Dahal to speak in HoR
In today's meeting of the House of Representatives, former Prime Minister and Chairman of the Maoist Center, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, requested to speak. However, the chief whip of the ruling party asked the Speaker, through the Maoist Centre's chief whip, Hitraj Pandey, to prevent Dahal from speaking in the meeting. Despite this, Pandey informed that Dahal had already requested for time to speak three days ago and remains firm on his decision to speak. Maoist Center MPs claim that Dahal will deliver a counter-speech in response to the remarks made by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday.