Minister Singh said Jha has to quit his post if he refuses to take his oath in Nepali. Jha has already ruled out taking oath in Nepali, terming the apex court´s verdict biased and meaningless.
The Supreme Court on Friday nullified the oath of office and secrecy taken by Jha, saying that the oath taken in Hindi was unconstitutional.
Talking to myrepublica.com on Monday, Singh warned Jha not to defy the apex court verdict. “Everybody should follow the verdict of the court, whatever it is,” Singh said, adding, “Jha is also not above the constitution and the law of the land and he must take his oath in Nepali and respect the court´s verdict.”
Singh said Jha has no moral ground to continue in office in the capacity of vice president. “I expect that Jha will not violate the constitution, the law and the court´s verdict” he added.
“No one is allowed to interpret the constitution and court verdicts as per his or her own interests and will,” Singh said, “Conformity to court verdicts is always mandatory for one and all and Jha is no exception.”
Singh recalled the example of US President Barack Obama´s repeat of his oath-taking ceremony. “Jha should learn from Obama´s example. Obama took his oath of office for the second time without hesitation just because he missed a single word [in the oath of office] at his first swearing-in ceremony.”
Singh advised Jha not to treat the court´s verdict otherwise and not to make it a prestige issue. “Taking oath a second time will benefit none other than Jha himself. He will be respected for it if he takes the oath in Nepali,” he said.
Singh also said that as the position of vice president is not an ordinary post, and Jha shouldn´t be loyal to a particular party, caste or community. “He should take it as an opportunity to establish a good precedent by respecting the court´s verdict.”
Jha awaiting letter from Prez
Meanwhile, Jha said he will not decide anything about a second oath unless he gets a letter from the President´s Office. “I won´t take any decision until I get a formal letter from the President,” Jha said, adding, “I will decide what to do at the moment I receive a formal letter from him.”
Asked how he felt about the reaction of the law minister Singh, Jha said, “The minister has the right to speak whatever he feels and I don´t want to comment on his statement.”
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