Pro-govt student union hits Kathmandu streets ahead of verdict on parliament dissolution

Youth Association Nepal, the student union of ruling CPN-UML of Nepal, on Sunday held a roadshow in support of now caretaker Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, a day before expected verdict over writ petitions against house dissolution.

An unusual event to be witnessed, dozens of government supporters hit the streets of the capital Kathmandu raising slogans against the opposition alliance and in support of the beleaguered leader.

"We are the fraternal organization of the ruling party and we are now on the street showing support to the incumbent government. The situation has compelled us to get down onto the street. Party fraternity has come to support the government as it is under seize," Babu Chatkuli, one of the student leaders from the ruling party's student alliance told ANI.

The show of support for Oli comes on eve of the next session of the Supreme Court which is expected to deliver a verdict over cases filed against the latest round of house dissolution.

A total of 30 writ petitions have been filed against the HoR dissolution. As many as 146 lawmakers of the HoR including President Sher Bahadur Deuba of Nepali Congress (NC) have filed the writ petitions demanding the reinstatement of the HoR and appointing Deuba as the Prime Minister of Nepal.

Marathon discussion over the petitions filed with the Apex body of the nation ended earlier on 5 July. The next date for the hearing has been fixed for July 12 which is expected to deliver the verdict over the writ petitions.

While several writ petitions had been filed against Oli's move, the court had decided to issue a verdict on the petition filed by the main opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba first and began the hearing.

The pro-government student union has warned to hit the streets if the court orders to appoint Deuba as next Prime Minister of the nation which the petitioners have sought in their writ.

"We are keenly waiting for the verdict, whatever decision the court would make but we won't accept those steps that would be taken by court crossing the boundaries set by the constitution. If the court issues any commands regarding appointment of a new Prime Minister then youths as of today wouldn't hesitate to hit streets and protests would take a larger form," Niraj Paudel, another student leader who had painted an image of KP Oli over his forehead told ANI.

An amicus curiae of four members sent by the central committee and the Supreme Court chapter of the Nepal Bar Association also have given their views. Of four senior advocates, two argued the House should be reinstated while two others said Oli's move was right.

The latest round of house dissolution which comes in less than 6 months of reinstatement has thrown the Himalayan Nation into political chaos and instability. Being the first Prime Minister of Federal Republic of Nepal, KP Sharma Oli has attempted to dissolve the house for the second straight time.

Leading the writ petitions of house dissolution for the second time, Chief Justice Cholendra JB Rana has formed a five-member constitutional bench under his leadership to hear the writ. Other Justices on the bench include Deepak Kumar Karki, Meera Khadka, Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Dr Aananda Mohan Bhattarai.

The Justices on the bench are the senior-most among those who feature in the roster of the constitutional bench. Earlier, the constitutional bench had issued an order ruling that the advocates should finish their arguments within 32 hours.

Fifteen hours were allocated for advocates on behalf of writ petitioners and 15 hours for legal practitioners of Prime Minister and government attorneys.

( With inputs from ANI )