Neither PM Bhattarai nor Chief Justice Regmi resigns

A new election government under the leadership of Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi has officially been formed without Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai announcing his resgination from the post, and Regmi from his judicial position.

Ever since the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in May last year, opposition parties, including Nepali Congress and UML had been demanding that Baburam Bhattarai put in his papers at the earliest.

Similarly, a section of the two parties had been demanding that Regmi relinquish his judicial powers before assuming the post of head of the executive (government).

However, this has not happened as both men do not want to show that they have been defeated, sources say.

"Prime Minister Bhattarai has no need to resign as the President in his post-CA message clearly mentioned that the Bhattarai government has been reduced to care-taker status," a minister in the dissolved Cabinet said. Earlier this week, Bhattarai's political adviser Devendra Poudel had also said that there would only be a hand-over of leadership, and Bhattrai would not officially put in his papers.

In Regmi's case, leaders of four major parties have agreed that the CJ would head the government without resigning from the judiciary, and would return to his job as the Chief Justice after successfully holding elections. nepalnews.com