The Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN (Maoist Centre) have urged the government to refrain from taking decisions of national importance and on any other issues that could potentially have long-term impact.

“Since the government is already in minority in Parliament now after the CPN (Maoist Centre) officially withdrew its support to the coalition, we urge the government not to take decisions on the matters that could have far-reaching consequences,” the two parties said in a joint statement on Thursday.

After recalling its ministers from the CPN-UML-led government, the Maoist Centre, with the backing of the NC, on Wednesday registered a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The government, however, later on Wednesday divided the ministries vacated by the Maoist leaders among the remaining ministers.

When asked if there were any particular issues the NC and the Maoist Centre were hinting at while asking the government to refrain from taking important decisions, NC Chief Whip Chin Kaji Shrestha said the two parties were basically talking about political appointments and transfers and promotions of bureaucrats.

“Since the political dynamics has changed, any political appointments made by a caretaker government may not suit the new government leadership. Also, transfers and promotions of bureaucrats at this time will surely affect the everyday functioning of the state,” Shrestha told the Post.

The joint statement of the Maoist Centre and the NC has come just days before the scheduled hearing of the 11 Supreme Court justice nominees and 22 ambassadorial nominations. The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) is all set to start hearing of 11 SC justice nominees from Sunday and subsequently, hearing of those who have been recommended as ambassadors for different missions will also follow.

According to the NC chief whip, there could possibly be changes in the nominations of justices and ambassadors.

“Oli himself set a bad precedent when he withdrew a name recommended as the member of the Judicial Council. Our ambassador to India was also recalled without any clarification,” Shrestha said.

In November last year, the UML-led government had cancelled the parliamentary hearing of senior advocate Ram Prasad Sitaula, who was appointed as a member of the Judicial Council by then Nepali Congress-led government. Sitaula was nominated for the post on June 8, 2015 and was reappointed by then prime minister Sushil Koirala in October last year.

A PHSC member from the Maoist Centre, however, said endorsing or withdrawing nominations are purely a political decision and that he “cannot exactly say what will happen”.