Kathmandu: Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Devraj Ghimire has engaged in consultations with the Chief Whips of the three major political parties to discuss lifting the ongoing obstruction in Parliament. The meeting was convened at Singha Durbar, where Speaker Ghimire met with Shyam Kumar Ghimire of the Nepali Congress, Mahesh Kumar Bartaula of the CPN (UML), and Hitraj Pandey of the CPN (Maoist Centre). During the meeting, Speaker Ghimire expressed his dissatisfaction over the repeated postponements of parliamentary sessions aimed at reaching a consensus, which have yet to yield a resolution.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Speaker Ghimire highlighted the urgency of initiating discussions on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which has been stalled due to the parliamentary obstruction. He urged the political parties to take into account both constitutional limits and practical considerations in resolving the issue. In response, Hitraj Pandey, the chief whip of the main opposition Maoist Centre, informed that party chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has called for a meeting of opposition parties in Baneshwor. The outcome of this meeting will determine the opposition’s formal stance.
Meanwhile, the chief whips of the ruling parties, Mahesh Kumar Bartaula of the CPN (UML) and Shyam Kumar Ghimire of the Nepali Congress, maintained their position against the opposition’s demands. They expressed their unwillingness to agree to the resignation of the Home Minister and the formation of an investigation committee to probe the ‘visit visa scam’.