Kathmandu, Nepal, January 13, 2019: Following the decision of the ruling head Nepal Communist Party (NCP) to name province 3 as the Bagmati province and Hetauda as its capital, the party has not only faced criticism but also raised question marks over the spirit of the federalism.
Though the decision made by the NCP reflects the ground reality in some extent, it has been courted into controversy as constitution clearly states that the twin duties fall on the provincial assembly but not the government head NCP or other parties.
Secretariat meeting of the party held recently had issued a diktat to its Province 3 assembly members to name the province as Bagmati and to make permanent its temporary capital Hetauda.
As many members of the NCP parliamentary party in Province 3 have protested the party decision, the issue would emerge as one of the major contentions issue within the party tough chief minister of the Province 3 Dormani Poudel has already given green signal to passage the secretariat decision from the provincial assembly.
Though the government head NCP has bitterly divided over the issue it is likely that it would be passed easily from the provincial assembly as some lawmakers of the Nepali Congress have also already extended their support to name Hetauda as the capital city of the province 3.
Then government led by the Nepali Congress had fixed Hetauda as the temporary capital of the province 3. In the 110-member Province 3 Assembly, the ruling head NCP has 80 seats. It is claimed that majority of the provincial assembly members from the ruling head NCP have stand in favor of the party decision.
Likewise, the ruling head NCP also holds majority strength in almost all the provinces including the province 1. But it has failed to name the province and capital, thanks to the division in the party. The process of formally deciding a name has been in limbo for the past several months in province 1 as well.
