KATHMANDU: Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Padam Giri has stated that the ruling and opposition parties will reach an agreement on the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the proposed parliamentary investigation committee by Sunday.

Speaking at an event organized by the Federation of Nepal Journalists in Parbat, Minister Giri expressed confidence that the task force would finalize the ToR before Sunday’s parliament meeting.

The Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition party, has been insisting on including the name of Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the ToR.

In response, Minister Giri clarified that the probe committee cannot be formed to target a specific individual but can include companies and cooperatives involved in fraud.

“We will determine whether the Home Minister is guilty or innocent only after the investigation. Forming a probe committee against certain individuals sets a bad precedent,” Minister Giri said.

He also emphasized that the government wants the parliament sessions to run smoothly and does not want to introduce the upcoming budget through an ordinance.

The NC has been continuously obstructing the sessions of both the lower and upper houses of parliament, demanding the formation of a probe committee to investigate allegations against Home Minister Lamichhane in a cooperative fraud case.

Previously, the government and the opposition agreed to form a probe committee and established a task force to prepare the ToR.

The task force is led by Minister Padam Giri and includes lawmakers Shishir Khanal from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Jeevan Pariyar from the Nepali Congress, and Mahesh Bartaula from the CPN-UML.