Nepali Congress (NC) has consulted legal professionals over its status as the main opposition party.
NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma, chief whip Ramesh Lekhak and other office-bearers held discussion with legal professionals at the NC parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar on Friday.
NC had called former attorneys general Khamba Bahadur Khati and Raman Shrestha and legal experts including Shambhu Thapa and Radheshyam Adhikari to discuss the issue on Friday.
The legal professionals said during the meeting that NC will be granted the status of main opposition party, an NC office-bearer told Setopati.
NC voted for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal during the floor test on January 10 but decided to remain in the main opposition.
However, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party and other parties said that a party that supports the government does not remain the main opposition, and also demanded that they be recognized as the main opposition.
NC had written to the Federal Parliament Secretariat on January 22 inquiring about the perks and benefits for the main opposition leader. The Federal Parliament Secretariat had also responded with a letter recognizing NC as the main opposition party.
Advocate Bimal Pokharel had then filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the Federal Parliament Secretariat for recognizing NC as the main opposition party.
Pokharel’s petition also demands that NC parliamentary party leader or leaders of other parties who voted for PM Dahal during the floor test be prohibited from attending the Constitutional Council meeting.
On February 8, the Supreme Court sought reasons from the Federal Parliament Secretariat for recognizing NC as the main opposition party despite its voting for PM Dahal during the floor test.
A single bench of Justice Sushma Lata Mathema hearing the petition filed by advocate Pokharel issued the show-cause notice.
It also summoned both the sides for hearing their arguments before deciding whether to issue an interim order or not.
The SC had initially refused to register the petition stating that the issue was an internal matter of the parliament.
But Pokharel had appealed against the refusal by SC Registrar Narayan Panthi to register the petition.
A single bench of Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla had then ordered registration of the petition.
There was confusion about whether the grand old party should be considered a ruling party or an opposition party after it voted for PM Dahal during the floor test even though NC stated that it will remain an opposition party despite voting for PM Dahal.
But the Federal Parliament Secretariat eventually recognized NC as the main opposition party.
