House stalemate continues as opposition parties continue their protest

KATHMANDU: The House of Representatives, which has been repeatedly obstructed for the past two weeks, could not convene on Monday either.

Although parties had claimed on Sunday that they were close to a consensus and that the House would resume on Monday, it did not happen.

As soon as the session began on Monday afternoon, opposition lawmakers stood up and began chanting slogans against the government. Although Speaker Devraj Ghimire offered to allow leaders to speak and represent their parties’ positions, the protests continued, forcing him to adjourn the meeting.

The opposition parties have been obstructing parliamentary proceedings since May 27, demanding an investigation into Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak over the visit visa controversy. They have called for the formation of a parliamentary investigation committee to probe his alleged involvement. However, the government has maintained that since the issue is already being investigated by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a separate investigation is not necessary.

Since then, the opposition has allowed only the joint session of both Houses to convene to present the federal budget on May 29.

Although the main opposition, CPN (Maoist Centre), has reportedly agreed to withdraw its demand for a parliamentary probe against the home minister, other opposition parties like the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), and CPN (Unified Socialist) have remained firm in their demands.