Congress Chief Whip Shyam Ghimire claimed that by Thursday, the signatures of 45 lawmakers had been collected. Congress had earlier also collected the signatures of 45 lawmakers. However, since those signatures could not be used for court procedures, the party started collecting signatures again on Nepali paper, along with thumbprints and official seals.
“We will complete the required 63 signatures by Sunday and then go to the court with a supplementary petition,” he said.
Meanwhile, UML leader Mahesh Bartaula, who was the chief whip of the dissolved parliament, also said that the signature collection had started after consultation between both parties. He stated that a joint supplementary petition would be submitted after collecting signatures from 138 lawmakers.
According to him, there will be signatures from 75 UML lawmakers and more than the required 63 from Congress. In the 275-member House of Representatives, 138 lawmakers are needed for a majority. “We will easily reach the majority number of lawmakers,” Ghimire added. “There will be signatures from 75 UML lawmakers, and we will collect more than the required 63.”