Nepal Supreme Court orders written answer from Vice President

Kathmandu, July 28 : The Supreme Court (SC) of Nepal today ordered Vice President Parmananda Jha to furnish a written answer for taking oath of office and secrecy in Hindi language.

According to Kantipur, the Supreme Court has also decided to uphold the writ filed by advocate Bal Krishna Neupane.

Neupane had filed a writ petition at the apex court on Friday claiming that the oath was unconstitutional as it was taken in a language not recognised by the interim constitution. Vice President Jha did not take the oath in the language specified in the constitution. So, his oath ought to be nullified," Neupane said in the petition.

Neupane also asked the court to issue an interim order preventing Jha from doing any official work in his capacity as Vice President.

The constitution has categorically stated that the President and Vice President, among others who hold constitutional posts, should take oath of office and secrecy in the form and language specified in its appendix 1, Neupane said.

"The oath as mentioned in the appendix is in Nepali," he added.

The Vice President's oath has also sparked protests across the country.

On Wednesday, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav, clad in the Nepal costume, had taken the oath of office and secrecy in Nepali. However, when he administered the oath of office to Vice President Jha, who was clad in a dress that many identify with Indian parliamentarians, the latter preferred to take it in Hindi.

According to an independent statistics, only 0.05 per cent of people living in Terai speak Hindi. The majority of the people there speak Bhojpuri, Maithali, Avadhi and other local dialects.

ANI