Lumbini Province Assembly convening today

By Our Correspondent,Butwal, July 21: The 24th meeting of the fourth session of the Lumbini Provincial Assembly, which was postponed for a few days due to the political confusion caused by the change of guar at the federal level, will be held on Sunday, July 21.

Secretary of the Assembly, Durlabh Kumar Pun Magar, issued a notice on Friday informing that the meeting would be held on Sunday at 1:00 PM.

Earlier, the 24th meeting of the fourth session, which was scheduled to be held on Sunday, July 7, was postponed citing special reasons.

The meeting of the Provincial Assembly has not been held regularly and the fate of the bill that was supposed to be presented at the meeting has also become uncertain due to the uncertainty of the government. 

There is also a possibility that Chief Minister Jokh Bahadur Mahara will seek a vote of confidence in the Provincial Assembly meeting on Sunday.

The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have been demanding the resignation of CM Mahara, the leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre) parliamentary party, to facilitate the formation of a new government.

Although there was a loose agreement between the NC and CPN-UML that the latter would lead the Lumbini provincial government, the two parties are yet to reach a decision. Currently, both the UML and NC have been making first claims for the chief ministership.

Tulsi Chaudhary, Chief Whip of the CPN-UML at the Lumbini Provincial Assembly, has said that CPN-UML would lead the Lumbini provincial government.

But Chief Whip of the NC Janmajaya Timilsena also said that they should lead the government in Lumbini in the first phase.

He said that the decision taken at the centre would determine who will lead the government in Lumbini.

CPN-UML has already withdrawn its support to the Lumbini government by claiming the leadership of the government for the first time. 

A few days ago, former CM Leela Giri met province chief Amik Sherchan and asked him to take initiatives for the formation of a new government.

UML Chief Whip Chaudhary said that since CPN-UML had withdrawn its support to the government, CM Mahara fell in the minority and asked to open the way for the formation of a new government. 

On the other hand, Indrajit Tharu, chief whip of CPN-MC Lumbini Province, said that Chief Minister Mahara was in a wait-and-see situation.

 "There are two options – seek a fresh vote of confidence or resign," he said.