Around 18 lawmakers from Karnali Provincial Assembly registered a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi.
The legislators who signed the motion for non-confidence stated that Shahi, also the leader of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), is responsible for the weak presence of the party in the parliament.
“It is for this reason that the presence of the party, as well as of the government at public or ground level, is not effectively seen. Therefore, it is requested to call for a meeting and pave the way,” the proposal registered in the parliamentary office of the party states. The legislature of the governing party lodged the motion in compliance with Rule 24(1) of the Statute of the Parliamentary Party 2075 BS. Of the 18 petitioners, 15 are from the former CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist) while three are from the former CPN (Maoist Center).
“We will call the meeting within 15 days as per the Parliamentary Party Statute to discuss on the matter. Right now discussion and coordination with senior leaders present in parliament and center are going on,” Chief whip of NCP from Karnali Province, Gulabjung Shah informed ANI.
Karnali Province Assembly has a total of 40 lawmakers out of which 33 are from the ruling NCP. Article 188 (3) of the Constitution of Nepal has granted authority to dismiss a Chief Minister through a majority vote.
With the Center working on the process of party unification, the recent developments in the province of Karnali have increased speculation about it. CM Shahi, whose position is now at issue, was appointed on the basis of Article 168(2) since there was no single-party majority.