Hikmat Karki reinstated as acting chief minister of Koshi Province

CPN-UML province Parliamentary Party leader Hikmat Kumar Karki has been reinstated as the acting chief minister of Koshi Province.

He will assume the office today itself.

Karki was appointed as the acting chief minister after the Supreme Court removed Congress province Parliamentary Party leader Uddhav Thapa from the post of chief minister.

He will work as the chief minister till August 2.

Earlier on Thursday, the apex court had ordered province Chief Parshuram Khapung to proceed with the process to appoint a new chief minister by August 2 while annulling the appointment of Thapa.

Karki, who is in Kathmandu, will head towards Biratnagar after some time to take charge of the office.

With Karki’s reinstatement, the ministers in the government under his leadership will also take over the responsibility of the ministries.

In the UML-led government, Buddhi Kumar Raj Bhandari was the Minister for Social Development and Tourism, Forest and Environment, Til Kumar Menyangbo Minister for Drinking Water, Irrigation and Energy and Health.

Similarly, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) province Parliamentary Party leader Bhakti Prasad Sitaula is the Minister for Industry, Agriculture and Cooperatives and Physical Infrastructure Development.

Karki was appointed as the chief minister for the second time on January 8, 2023.

The Karki-led government fell after losing the vote of confidence in Parliament on June 30.

After that, province Chief Parshuram Khapung called for the formation of a new government as per Article 168 (2) of the Constitution.

After  counting the signatures including that of Speaker Baburam Gautam, province Chief Khapung appointed Nepali Congress leader Thapa as the chief minister on July 6.

On July 7, leader Karki filed a writ at the Supreme Court against the decision.

Hearing the case filed against the Koshi government, a full bench of Justices comprising Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Til Prasad Shrestha annulled the appointment of Thapa and directed province Chief Khapung to appoint a chief minister of the coalition government within seven days.