Nepal PM Prachanda wins vote of confidence in Parliament
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda' on Wednesday secured a vote of confidence in Parliament, as the country struggled to maintain political stability amid the shifting of alliances.
Prachanda, 69, a former guerilla leader belonging to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) -- the third largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR) --received 157 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives (HoR).
Altogether 268 MPs were present during the voting in the Parliament building at Naya Baneshwor in Kathmandu.
110 votes were cast against him while one lawmaker abstained from voting. Prachanda needed 138 votes to win the trust vote.
"The Prime Minister has won the vote of confidence," announced Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire.
The vote comes days after the Maoist leader dumped the Nepali Congress and forged a new alliance with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).
This is the third time that Prachanda sought a vote of confidence in the House in less than one-and-a-half-year.
According to constitutional provisions, a prime minister has to take a vote of confidence after an ally withdraws support to the ruling coalition.
Prachanda was required to prove his majority after he lost the support of the previous ally, the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the HoR.
Prachanda's new political alliance is with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) led by former prime minister K P Oli, who was regarded as a top critic of the Maoist leader.
Prachanda became the prime minister for the third term on December 25, 2022.
Last year, Prachanda faced a floor test after the Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew its support to the Prachanda-led government following a rift over backing the main opposition party's candidate for the presidential poll.
In the 2017 election, Prachanda and Oli merged their parties and secured a comfortable majority. Oli became the prime minister, but their partnership ended halfway following differences between them.
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NIA court to complete framing of charges against 2010 hand-chopping case accused on May 15
Kochi (PTI): A special court here will complete proceedings for framing charges against the prime accused in the 2010 hand-chopping case involving professor T J Joseph, in which PFI activists were accused of attacking him at Muvattupuzha.
Ernakulam Special Court for NIA cases judge P K Mohandas, on April 30, heard the arguments of counsel for accused Savad and Shafeer C and decided to proceed with framing charges against the duo.
A group chopped off Thodupuzha Newman College professor Joseph's right hand in July 2010, accusing him of religious blasphemy in a question paper he had prepared.
The case, later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), resulted in the conviction of 19 accused.
The first accused, Savad, who allegedly chopped off Joseph’s palm, was arrested in Berram in Mattannur, Kannur, in January 2024, where he had allegedly been hiding under the pseudonym Shajahan.
The NIA also arrested Shafeer, who allegedly arranged shelter and provided logistical support to Savad at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur since 2020.
On April 30, the court heard the counsel for the accused and the NIA prosecutor on framing charges against the duo.
"On going through the documents and evidence in the case and on hearing the counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, I am of the opinion that there are grounds for presuming that the first accused has committed offences punishable under provisions of the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that the second accused has committed offences punishable under the IPC and the UAPA, and there are materials for framing charges under these provisions against the accused," the court said.
The court directed that Savad be produced and Shafeer, who is on bail, appear before it on May 15 for recording their pleas as part of the charge-framing process.
After framing the charges, the court will schedule the trial in the case.
