KATHMANDU: A meeting of the task force formed to prepare the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the parliamentary investigation committee ended without agreement on Thursday afternoon at Singha Durbar.
The failure to reach a consensus was due to the Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition party, insisting on including Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane’s name in the TOR.
Chief Whip of CPN-UML Mahesh Bartaula and Chief Whip of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Santosh Pariyar stated that the NC is likely to reconsider its demand to include Home Minister Lamichhane in the TOR.
They informed that the next meeting of the task force is scheduled for 7 AM on Friday, where they aim to finalize the TOR.
However, Jeevan Pariyar, the Deputy General Secretary of the NC, maintained that the party is firm on including Home Minister Lamichhane in the TOR and will not back down from this demand.
The government and the opposition had previously agreed to form a probe committee and established a task force to prepare the TOR.
Disagreements over jurisdiction have prevented the task force from reaching a conclusion.
The ruling alliance of CPN (Maoist Center), CPN-UML, and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has rejected the NC’s demand.
The previous meeting of the task force, held on Tuesday, also ended without resolution.
The opposition has continuously obstructed the parliament session, demanding the formation of the probe committee against Home Minister Lamichhane.
The task force is led by Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Padam Giri and includes lawmakers Shishir Khanal from Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Jeevan Pariyar from Nepali Congress, and Mahesh Bartaula from CPN-UML.
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