KATHMANDU: A meeting of the National Assembly (NA) underway at the Federal Parliament building in New Baneshwor has been postponed for 15 minutes after main opposition party CPN-UML’s obstruction.

Speaking at the special time provided by NA Chairperson Ganesh Timilsina, UML lawmaker accused Finance Minister Janardan Sharma of tabling the Appropriation Bill in a ‘guerrilla style’ and stated that his party would not let the House run unless it’s agenda are addressed.

UML has been obstructing both Houses of the parliament seeking action against the 14 defecting lawmakers including former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.

The Upper House is scheduled to discuss on the Appropriation Bill n today’s meeting. If there is an agreement among the parties, lawmakers will present their deliberation on the Bill.

Once the lawmakers finish deliberating, 72 hours will be allocated for the lawmakers to present their views for the Bill for amendment.

Members of the National Assembly also have the facility to propose spending cuts on the Bill. If an MP makes such a proposal, it will also be discussed.

After that, the National Assembly will pass the bill and send it back to the House of Representatives (HoR). Once the Speaker signs the Bill, the HoR will send the Bill to the President for authentication.

The meeting of House of Representatives (HoR) on Monday, passed the Appropriation Bill amidst UML’s protest, while the National Debt and Finance Bill was discussed in principle.

The next meeting of the House of Representatives has been called for Thursday. Preparations are underway to pass the National Debt Raising Bill and the Finance Bill in the next meeting.