Former president Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that she approved the dissolution of Parliament in accordance with the Constitution.
She clarified that she endorsed the dissolution of Parliament twice, not under anyone’s pressure, but as per the provisions of the Constitution.
Responding to journalists’ questions during a press conference organized by the Madan Bhandari Foundation in Anamnagar of Kathmandu on Tuesday, former president Bhandari acknowledged that the issue of Parliament dissolution continues to follow her.
The House of Representatives was dissolved for the first time on December 20, 2020, and for the second time on May 21, 2021, based on the recommendation of the Cabinet led by then-prime minister KP Sharma Oli. Both dissolutions took place at midnight.
Bhandari was widely criticized for promptly endorsing both dissolutions of the House of Representatives by Oli. However, the Supreme Court later annulled both dissolutions.
On Tuesday, journalists raised questions regarding the issue.
“The dissolution of Parliament is a matter of the past, and I am aware that it continues to follow me,” she said. “The event of 1960 is still discussed in history, as is the dissolution in 1994. During my tenure as president, too, Parliament was dissolved twice, and that will keep coming up. But I implemented the decisions made by the Cabinet, not under any pressure, but as per the provisions.”
Bhandari emphasized that she did not endorse the dissolutions under any pressure.
“If you want to participate in discussions, topics such as its constitutional, political, and historical aspects, as well as how the country could have been provided a way forward, and what needs to be done at what time can be subjects of discussion,” she said.
Bhandari reiterated that the Cabinet made the decision in accordance with the Constitution, and that she merely implemented it.
