It has been five days since the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP) withdrew its support to the federal government led by KP Sharma Oli.
However, Minister of State for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Arun Kumar Chaudhary, who is an NUP lawmaker, has not resigned from his post even after his party withdrew support to the government.
His personal secretary Aman Kumar Chaudhary said that as of Thursday afternoon, there was no information regarding his resignation.
NUP withdrew its support to the Oli government on July 5. Announcing the decision, NUP parliamentary party leader Gangaram Chaudhary said that a unanimous decision was made to withdraw support as the government failed to perform satisfactorily.
“This government could not perform satisfactorily. Therefore, the parliamentary party decided to withdraw the support given to the government and recall Minister Arun Chaudhary,” he said.
Minister of State Chaudhary also signed the decision to withdraw support to the government and step down from his ministerial position.
The day after the decision, on July 6, a delegation led by NUP Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha met Speaker Devraj Ghimire to inform him that the party had withdrawn its support to the government and would sit in the opposition bench. Since then, NUP lawmakers have been sitting in the opposition bench in House of Representatives meetings.
Meanwhile, NUP patron Resham Chaudhary met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Baluwatar on July 7 and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba in Budhanilkantha on July 8.
The details of Resham Chaudhary’s discussions with PM Oli and NC President Deuba have not been made public. However, while NUP lawmakers are sitting in the opposition bench in the House of Representatives, Minister of State Chaudhary has not resigned, placing NUP in both the ruling and opposition sides simultaneously.
“He has not resigned as minister of state, has not been coming to the ministry for a few days, and has not attended Parliament either,” a source at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation said. “Since he hasn’t resigned, he continues to use facilities including government vehicle, but he has not come to the ministry.”
NUP has four lawmakers in the House of Representatives. If Minister of State Chaudhary attends Parliament, he would have to sit in the ruling bench for ministers, creating a dilemma since his party is in the opposition.
NUP Chairperson Shrestha said that the party has already withdrawn support to the government and started sitting in the opposition.
“We have withdrawn support to the government and are sitting in the opposition bench,” she said. “As for why the minister of state has not resigned, you’d have to ask him or the patron. I am the party chairperson, and the party is already in the opposition.”
Patron Resham Chaudhary was reluctant to elaborate on the ongoing developments within the party. When asked about the minister of state not resigning despite the party’s decision to withdraw support, he said, “There was talk that he would resign yesterday.”
According to the PM Oli’s secretariat, no resignation has been received from Minister of State Chaudhary.
“He has not resigned, and it seems he doesn't intend to leave the government. It appears that the decision to withdraw support stems from internal party disputes,” a source at the prime minister’s secretariat said. “No concrete stance has come from NUP leaders.”
Attempts to contact Minister of State Chaudhary were unsuccessful as both of his mobile numbers were switched off.
On August 2, 2024, three NUP lawmakers, including Chaudhary, were appointed as ministers of state.
In Sudur Paschim province, Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah sacked NUP’s Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest, and Environment Rameshwar Chaudhary following allegations of irregularities in the distribution of power tillers, leading to NUP’s dissatisfaction.
Subsequently, the NUP withdrew support to the Sudur Paschim, Lumbini, and Madhes provincial governments, as well as the federal government.
The NUP has four lawmakers in the federal Parliament, one in Madhes, four in Lumbini, and seven in Sudur Paschim.
