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The Parliamentary Hearing Committee unanimously approved the name of the Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma for the post of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 

Committee Chairman Bodh Narayan Shrestha said that the committee meeting held today at Singha Durbar made the decision to this effect. 

Before this, the proposed Chief Justice Sharma presented his work plan and it was discussed in the hearing committee. 

The committee had called a meeting this morning to review the proposed Chief Justice Sharma's work plan and complaints against him. 

Sixteen complaints were lodged with the committee against Sharma.

According to the constitutional provision, the President shall appoint the Chief Justice after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee approves the recommendation for the same by the Constitutional Council.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment has formed a task force of the technical committee to manage human-wildlife conflict.

The 15-member task force includes human-wildlife conflict management experts.

This task force has been formed to prevent damage caused by wildlife, improve policies and programs, and ensure effective implementation of these policies and programs at the local level.

It will carry out studies and research the damage caused by wildlife, review the current situation, and make recommendations for necessary policies and legal amendments.

Based on the indicators, the task force has also been assigned the responsibility to select model projects in 20 wards, implement them, provide technical support, and monitor them.

The programs will be implemented in coordination with the federal, provincial and local levels and the task force will provide suggestions to make the relief system for damaged crops simple, effective and timely.

The ministry has stated that human–wildlife conflict management will be carried out based on the suggestions provided by the task force.

In view of the growing incidences of wild animals entering residential areas, attacking people and damaging crops in several areas of the country, recently, the associated sectors and stakeholders had suggested forming a technical and expert-inclusive task force to study the affected areas and provide suggestions for resolving the human–wildlife conflict.

The House of Representatives (HoR) is meeting at 11 am today.

The Parliament Secretariat has proposed the schedule of discussion on principles and priorities (except tax) of the forthcoming budget.

Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle had presented the principles and priorities of the upcoming budget in the HoR meeting on May 14. 

Finance Minister Wagle will be responding to the lawmakers once the discussion is over.

Similarly, the upper house of the federal Parliament, National Assembly, is scheduled at 1:15pm. 

CPN-UML has decided to renew, revive, or reactivate the membership of Bidya Devi Bhandari. This is not merely a renewal of membership, but also an attempt to salvage a shrinking party. The party hinted at this development on May 17 by inviting her to a party function.

Earlier, her membership had been scrapped after she challenged party chairman KP Sharma Oli. However, some spin doctors interpreted the move as an effort to preserve the sanctity of the office of the head of state. In defending Oli, they tried to portray the issue as a matter of principle. Now, her membership has been revived without any clear justification.

Possibly, Bhandari may have agreed to take over the party leadership from Oli. Oli, who had appeared determined to continue leading the party even after the March 5 elections, now faces unprecedented pressure to step down. His health condition is also preventing him from remaining active. Over the past few weeks, apart from some social media posts, he has not spoken publicly, signaling some sort of problem inside the party.

However, such a transition will not be easy, as Oli was elected through the party’s general convention. In this scenario, he may continue as leader while gradually giving more space to Bhandari.

After Oli was arrested by the police, former Maoist rebel Ram Bahadur Thapa has been serving as the acting leader of both the party and its parliamentary wing. There is unease within the party, as Thapa, also known as Badal, has taken a confrontational stance against key state institutions. His rhetoric resembles the language he used while representing the hardline faction of the Maoists between 2008 and 2013.

Traditionally, UML had maintained a good rapport with state institutions, including the Nepal Army and the bureaucracy. However, Thapa has damaged this relationship by making serious accusations against these institutions. Senior UML leaders have tried to control the damage.

For now, Bhandari is more likely to unify the party than fully revive it, as most senior leaders after Oli appear willing to accept her leadership. In addition, other communist parties struggling for political survival could potentially rally under her leadership. The old slogan of left unity could resurface in the coming weeks.

However, it remains uncertain whether she can truly revive the party, as the March elections signaled a broader generational shift in politics. Bhandari, who is already over 60, may face difficulties in attracting younger voters. Moreover, youth disenchantment with communist parties is at an all-time high.  But who can say that people will not once again vote for communist parties, as they did in 2017? 

Therefore, it would be premature to write off the history of UML and other communist parties, even though the party is currently facing a historic crisis. It is important to remember that UML still has strong organizational strength at the grassroots level. The UML could attempt to rebrand itself by moving away from its communist identity and instead projecting itself as a socialist party.