VP Jha's Hindi oath 'political in nature': Nepal

Kathmandu, Aug 4: The Nepal Government has said that the issue of Vice President Parmananda Jha taking his oath in Hindi is 'political in nature', rather than constitutional.

Replying to a show cause notice, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers said that the issue deserves to be scrapped prima facie by the Supreme Court. It further argued that the apex court would not consider the issue as Jha also signed the oath in the language specified in the Constitution. The apex court had issued a show cause notice to the Prime Minister's Office and the Vice President after taking up a writ petition filed by advocate Bal Krishna Neupane.

Neupane had filed a writ petition at the apex court claiming that the oath was unconstitutional as it was taken in a language not recognised by the interim Constitution. He 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 Vice President's oath had resulted in protests across the country, the nepalnews reported.

ANI