The dispute regarding the Koshi province government has reached the Supreme Court again.
Former chief minister and CPN-UML Koshi parliamentary party leader Hikmat Kumar Karki filed a petition at the Supreme Court through a representative on Wednesday. He has claimed in the petition that Koshi Chief Minister Uddhav Thapa won the vote of confidence in an unconstitutional manner.
Nepali Congress (NC) leader Thapa eventually passed the floor test on Monday following a series of maneuverings and counter-maneuverings by the ruling coalition and the opposition parties before the vote.
Thapa received 47 votes to secure a majority in the 93-strong provincial assembly while 30 lawmakers voted against his government.
NC lawmaker Israil Mansuri conducted the proceedings as the senior-most member in the absence of Deputy Speaker Srijana Danuwar, who was elected to the provincial assembly from CPN-UML. Danuwar flew to Kathmandu on Monday apparently to stop Thapa from securing a majority.
The opposition including UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party wanted a ruling lawmaker to chair the proceedings to stop the person on the chair from voting in support of the Thapa government.
That, however, was not to be as Mansuri also voted to help Thapa pass the floor test even as the opposition lawmakers protested.
The opposition parties have been claiming that any person chairing proceedings cannot vote in the floor test pointing at Article 186 of the Constitution about voting in the provincial assembly that states, "All questions submitted for a decision in the Provincial Assembly shall be decided by a majority vote of the members present and participate in voting. The member presiding over the meeting shall not have the right to vote. Provided that he or she may exercise his or her casting vote in the case of a tie."
The ruling coalition, on the other hand, has been claiming that Mansuri, chairing the proceedings in the absence of speaker and deputy speaker, can vote according to another provision in the Constitution.
Article 187 (2) states, "Subject to this Constitution, the Provincial Assembly shall have full power to regulate and decide its internal business and it shall be the exclusive right of the Provincial Assembly to decide whether or not any of its proceedings is regular or irregular. No question shall be raised in any court in this regard."
The ruling coalition had forced the hands of the opposition leading to Danuwar avoiding the meeting that she had called by asking Baburam Gautam, elected from Maoist Center, to resign as speaker.
Gautam was then inducted in the Thapa Cabinet.
Thapa was appointed Koshi CM for the second time by Province Chief Parshuram Khapung on August 1.
Thapa had staked claim for the post of CM with the support of 29 lawmakers from Nepali Congress, 13 from CPN (Maoist Center), four from CPN (Unified Socialist) and one from Janata Samajwadi Party.
Thapa had earlier been removed after just 22 days in office after the Supreme Court on July 27 revoked his previous appointment as chief minister deeming formation of the government headed by him unconstitutional.
Speaker of Koshi provincial assembly Baburam Gautam had also signed to support Thapa’s claim for the post of chief minister then.
The ruling coalition then asked Gautam to resign from speaker to ensure that it had 47 lawmakers required to form a majority government.
