Home Minister Aryal Said House Dissolution Was Unconstitutional? No, Viral Video Is Old

Claim
Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal said the dissolution of the House was unconstitutional.
Fact
Viral clip is from January 2020.

Even as the CPN-UML leadership is questioning the formation of interim government outside the constitutional bounds after the Gen Z uprising, a video allegedly showing Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal saying that the parliament was dissolved against the spirit of the constitution and it should be reinstated is going viral on TikTok.

The video is going at a time when outgoing Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli questioning the Gen Z movement and the legitimacy of the interim government led by Sushila Karki formed on the backing of Gen Z protest.

In this context, TikTok user @karkiaabash35 posted a video showing Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal speaking about the dissolution of the House of Representatives. Text superimposed on the video attributed to Home Minister Aryal reads, “The House was dissolved against the spirit of the constitution, the parliament should be reinstated: Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal.”

In the video, Minister Aryal is heard saying, “The constitution cannot be dissolved in this manner. The constitution has not even given room to think along this line let alone to take action towards it. The President and Prime Minister have obstructed the House. This obstruction should be removed as it has further deteriorated the situation. I am really doubtful about this issue because the constitution has not given any space to think about the dissolution of the parliament. But there has been a huge step in this direction that could undermine the constitutional structures and change the characteristics of the government. I think there is a huge conspiracy behind this. There is ample space to doubt that the move was taken with support from various power centers such as the judiciary and Nepal Army.” 

The video posted on October 15 has garnered 487 likes, 87 users have shared it and 38 people have commented until the last count. The archived version of the video can be seen here.

Newschecker found the claim to be false.

Fact Check /Verification

To check the veracity of the claim, Newschecker took a key frame from the viral video and ran a reverse search on it. The search led us to a Facebook reel, dated January 4, 2021, posted on the Facebook page of Barhakhari online. The video after a few seconds exactly matched the viral video.

Further, we checked the YouTube channel of Nepal’s trusted online media Barhakhari and found a video, dated January 4, 2021, whose frame from 12-second onwards exactly matched the viral video.

Thus, our findings clearly point that the viral clip actually shows Aryal’s interview regarding the dissolution of the House in December 2020 by then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Om Prakash Aryal, a constitutional lawyer known for high-profile public interest cases and human rights advocacy, was appointed Minister for Home Affairs, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in the interim Cabinet led by Sushila Karki after the Gen z protest.

Conclusion

No, Home Minister Aryal has not commented on the dissolution of the House of Representatives after the Gen Z uprising that paved the way for his ministerial appointment. The viral video shows him commenting as constitutional lawyer after the dissolution of the House by then PM KP Oli in December 2020. Thus, the claim is misleading.

Result: Misleading

Sources
Barhakhari/ Facebook, Jan 4, 2021
Barhakhari /YouTube,
Kathmandu Post,