KATHMANDU: The main opposition party CPN (Maoist Centre), along with other parties, has maintained its demand that Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak must resign over the visit visa controversy before allowing the House to function. Due to this deadlock, Wednesday’s scheduled House of Representatives meeting could not begin on time and now remains uncertain.
Speaker Devraj Ghimire had called a meeting of chief whips of major parties to resolve the impasse. During the discussion, Maoist Centre Chief Whip Hit Raj Pandey reiterated that the minister’s resignation was necessary for the Parliament to proceed, stating that the issue has raised serious questions.
Speaker Ghimire’s press advisor Shekhar Adhikari confirmed that negotiations failed due to the opposing stances—while the opposition insists on the minister’s resignation, ruling parties demand the minister be allowed to address Parliament first.
The Speaker had held talks with Nepali Congress Chief Whip Shyam Ghimire, CPN-UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartola, and Maoist Centre’s Hit Raj Pandey earlier on Wednesday. However, with both sides refusing to back down, the House meeting scheduled for 1 PM today remains in limbo.
Ruling parties, including the CPN-UML and Nepali Congress, argue that Home Minister Lekhak should be allowed to speak in Parliament regarding the visa scandal. On the other hand, the Maoist Centre and its allies are firm that no parliamentary proceedings can move forward without his resignation.
As a result of this standoff, discussions on the national budget presented on May 29 in the joint session of Parliament have stalled. Although the budget was tabled, deliberations have not advanced due to the ongoing controversy.
Tuesday’s meeting was adjourned without convening due to lack of agreement, and Wednesday’s session now faces the same fate as parties fail to reach common ground.
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