Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) ministers who reached Baluwatar to resign have returned without resigning on request of Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Law Minister Dol Prasad Aryal, lawmaker Swarnim Wagle, Chief Whip Santosh Pariyar and other RSP leaders reached Baluwatar Thursday morning to meet PM Dahal and hand over resignation of the four RSP ministers.
Dahal told the RSP leaders that he was planning to take floor test and urged them to support him while he exercised his constitutional right to face the House, according to Pariyar.
RSP, meanwhile, has urged PM Dahal to take the floor test soon. “We will not support the next coalition. We have asked the PM to face the House as early as possible,” Pariyar added.
Deputy PM and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, Labor Minister Aryal, Education Minister Sumana Shrestha and Sports Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha represent RSP in the Dahal Cabinet.
CPN-UML has already withdrawn its support to the government led by Dahal on Wednesday.
The largest party in the ruling coalition led by PM Dahal withdrew its support after Dahal refused to resign even after formation of a new coalition while UML has also recalled its ministers from the Cabinet.
NC has also urged PM Dahal to pave the way for formation of new government by resigning but he has decided to not resign and take the floor test instead.
Oli and Deuba signed a seven-point agreement Monday night but the points have yet to be made public.
There are reports that the points include pledge to reform electoral system and system of governance among other things.
UML and NC will take turns to lead the government for the remaining term of the House of Representatives with Oli becoming the prime minister (PM) first as per the agreement. Deuba will then lead the government.
The two biggest parties in the House have agreed to form the government as per Article 76(2) of the Constitution.
The agreement means that the ruling coalition will change yet again in just four months.
The coalition between Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (Maoist Center) had broken giving way to a new ruling coalition of the Maoists UML on March 3.
The previous ruling coalition was formed around a year before that ahead of the election for president after Dahal broke the then coalition with UML. NC, Maoist Center, JSP and Unified Socialist had then decided to revive the pre-election alliance.
Dahal had quit the pre-election alliance with NC and Unified Socialist on December 25, 2022 and became prime minister (PM) with support of CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party, RPP, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party after Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba refused to make him PM first.
