Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s decision to force through a vote of trust on Monday despite protests from the main opposition, the Nepali Congress, has further deepened the divide in Nepali politics.

The ruling coalition and the opposition parties are already in a bitter disagreement over the formation of a parliamentary panel to probe the alleged involvement of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the misuse of cooperative funds.

According to leaders from both ruling and opposition parties, the manner in which the floor test was conducted in the House of Representatives on Monday is unlikely to ease tensions soon. The rancour is expected to continue until at least the budget announcement day on May 28.

If the Congress and five other opposition parties continue to obstruct the House, the government could bring the budget through an ordinance or by using marshals in the same manner Prime Minister Dahal sought a vote of confidence on Monday, say political observers.

Amid sloganeering and protest by Congress lawmakers on Monday, Speaker Devraj Ghimire deployed marshals to allow the prime minister to seek a vote of confidence.

Soon after Speaker Ghimire announced the commencement of House proceedings, Congress lawmakers surrounded the well and chanted slogans demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the home minister’s alleged involvement in the cooperatives scam.

The prime minister then rushed to the rostrum and started speaking, seeking a vote of confidence, and even threatening the Congress of consequences for trying to disrupt the proceedings.

“I think you [Nepali Congress] have made a big mistake today. I am that prime minister, who, time and again, helped you in the past, who is working to bring you into the dialogue and consensus. But today, you have set a bad example by preventing that prime minister from seeking a constitutionally-mandated vote of confidence, and I express my deep sadness at your move. This will cost you dearly,” the prime minister said while asking lawmakers to extend their trust in him.

The prime minister received 157 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives. One member abstained, while none voted against the motion. This was his fourth vote of trust after being elected to the post of prime minister in December 2022.

When asked by reporters what he meant by the cost for the Congress, the prime minister said the Congress will face the consequences in the next general elections.

After the prime minister secured the vote of confidence despite the opposition’s protest, Ramesh Lekhak, chief whip of the Nepali Congress, raised serious questions about the conduct of Speaker Ghimire.

“The Speaker fortified the House like a barrack and allowed the prime minister to seek a vote of trust, which is a joke in parliamentary democracy,” said Lekhak, adding “The Speaker acted like a loyal party worker.”

“Today, the Speaker did not allow the opposition party to speak in Parliament. It is because of the arrogance of the parliamentary majority. This is a tyranny and clearly shows the government’s disregard for parliamentary democracy,” said Lekhak.

A Nepali Congress office-bearer said the party would harden its position in the coming days and unite all opposition parties against the government.

According to a statement issued by the party, the Congress has called for a joint meeting of its central working committee and parliamentary party for Wednesday to discuss the latest political situation and chart out a future course.

“Did you forget who brought you into the peaceful politics from the jungle?” Lekhak asked the prime minister in response to the prime minister’s statement that Congress has to pay a huge price.

“When you took up arms to change the regime, who brought you to the peace process? Please stop making such irresponsible statements…what irresponsible utterances are you making? The Nepali Congress has to pay the price—what price?” a visibly angry Lekhak said.

The Congress has been obstructing the House of Representatives seeking the formation of a parliamentary probe committee against Home Minister Lamichhane. After repeated meetings and backdoor negotiations, the ruling and opposition parties on Saturday agreed to form a parliamentary committee but differed over its terms of reference (ToR).

The ruling and opposition parties also formed a task force to fix the committee’s terms of reference, but despite hectic negotiations throughout Sunday, they failed to reach an understanding.

The Congress and other opposition parties were demanding that the parliamentary committee should probe the home minister. But the biggest party in the ruling coalition, CPN-UML, and Lamichhane’s Rastriya Swatantra Party, have been dismissing the demand for an exclusive probe into the home minister.

On Sunday, the opposition parties, who are now united under the leadership of the Congress, allowed the home minister to speak in the House, something Lamichhane had long been asking for.

Lamichhane, while addressing the House, made many unsubstantiated accusations against Congress leaders.

Following Lamichhane’s statement, Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa organised a press conference and challenged the home minister to prove the accusations levelled against him and the Congress party.

The accusations and counter-accusations between the Congress and Lamichhane have greatly diminished the chances of forming a parliamentary committee.

Lekhak said after the parliamentary party meeting of the Congress on Monday morning, the party had decided to draw the prime minister’s attention to Lamichhane’s ‘unjustified’ statement in the House.

He accused the home minister of trying to evade the probe and said the accusations Lamichhane made in the House should be taken seriously. “The home minister was uncivilised and violent during his statement,” said Lekhak.

Even a ruling party questioned the need for a trust vote at a time when the main opposition had been staging protests inside the House.

“We gave a vote of trust to the prime minister as we are still in the government. But we wonder why the prime minister was in such a rush to seek a vote of confidence,” said Rajendra Pandey of the CPN (Unified Socialist).

The prime minister had decided to seek a vote of confidence after the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal, one of the parties backing the government, withdrew its support last week.

The prime minister can seek a vote of confidence within 30 days after a ruling partner party withdraws support.

Besides Thapa, Lamichhane’s accusation was challenged by Nepali Congress Vice-president Dhan Raj Gurung, and chairman of the Rastriya Janamorcha, Chitra Bahadur KC.

Gurung has registered a complaint with Speaker Ghimire and asked for action against Lamichhane for ‘contempt of a parliamentarian’. Lamichhane had accused Gurung of misusing a diplomatic passport. But Gurung said the Supreme Court had already given him a clean chit in the case of his alleged misuse of a diplomatic passport.

More opposition parties joined the protest led by Congress in Parliament on Monday. “Speaker Ghimire did not present himself like a Speaker,” said Gyan Bahadur Shahi, chief whip of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party. “He acted more like a UML cadre. He has failed to perform his duty as Speaker.”

“The Speaker made a blunder today by ignoring the Congress and other opposition parties who had rejected the trust vote. The Speaker acted with such force for the first time in Nepal’s parliamentary history,” said Shahi.

Dahal had opted for a floor test for the first time on January 10, 2023, getting 268 votes. The prime minister won the trust motion for the second time three months later, after breaking ties with the UML and forging a new alliance with the Congress. This time, he secured the support of 172 lawmakers.

He had to seek the vote of confidence for a third time after the Congress withdrew its support to the government. Dahal again broke the alliance with Congress and joined hands with the UML and other parties on March 4, to this time get 157 votes.

Chief Whip of the UML Mahesh Bartula said that following its rowdy showing in the House on Monday, the Congress should stop calling itself a democratic party. “The anti-democratic nature of the Nepali Congress has been exposed today,” said Bartula. “It has now lost the right to call itself a democratic party.”