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Kathmandu, November 18: The Congress–UML coalition government fell as a result of the Gen-Z protests of Bhadra 23 and 24, and the House of Representatives was also dissolved. The interim government led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki has set mid-term elections for Falgun 21.

The UML, however, has been in favor of restoring Parliament from the beginning, and it has even made a formal decision to that effect. Since the Nepali Congress had called the dissolution of Parliament unconstitutional, the UML was confident that the Congress would support it.

But as the election draws closer, the Congress has made it clear that it will not go to the court demanding the reinstatement of the dissolved House. Following this development, the UML has been left isolated, because except for the UML, all the parties are now in favor of elections. Nepali Congress outgoing Chief Whip Shyam Ghimire informed Speaker Devraj Ghimire that holding elections is the Congress’s priority.

Speaker Ghimire held a joint discussion with the outgoing chief whips of both the Congress and the UML. The UML remains aligned with the demand for restoring the House and with the cases filed in the Supreme Court. Although the UML has not formally filed its own petition, most of the petitioners come from UML backgrounds. Had the Congress supported the move, the UML was prepared to formally approach the court, but it is now holding back. Earlier, Speaker Ghimire himself had prepared to go to court demanding reinstatement of the House, but later withdrew.

The UML Secretariat, in its meeting on Asoj 26, decided that the dissolution of the House was unconstitutional and that it must be reinstated. It also concluded that the government was not in favor of conducting elections. At the time, the UML had decided to launch a signature campaign and move the Supreme Court for reinstatement. Although the party has not gone to the court institutionally, dozens of writ petitions against the dissolution are under consideration at the Supreme Court.

There had been some suspicion within the Congress after lawmakers started a signature campaign. It was said to be in support of the restoration of Parliament. However, after many lawmakers loyal to party president Sher Bahadur Deuba refused to sign, the issue faded. General Secretary Gagan Thapa, Bishwaprakash Sharma, and leader Shekhar Koirala have been in favor of elections from the beginning. Lawmakers aligned with them had expressed disagreement with the signature campaign.

During the discussions, UML’s Bartaula said that if both Congress and UML agree, they can go to court demanding the reinstatement of the House of Representatives.

People’s News Monitoring Service.