KATHMANDU: The House of Representatives saw a heated exchange on Monday as both ruling and opposition lawmakers raised serious concerns over two controversial issues: the alleged visit visa scam involving Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and the reported drafting of a law to legalize polygamy.
Demanding a parliamentary probe into the visa scandal, opposition parties Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) reiterated their call for the resignation of Home Minister Lekhak and walked out of the meeting after delivering strong statements.
RSP lawmaker Asim Sah said the public would never forget the visit visa scandal and claimed that the party would ensure it remains in public memory. He asked the Speaker to question the Home Minister about the whereabouts of the human trafficking case file linked to visit visas.
RPP lawmaker Dhruv Bahadur Pradhan argued that the issue wasn’t about visit visas themselves but about bad intentions within the system. “Everyone travels on visit visas—the real problem lies in the abuse of authority involving the labor ministry, immigration, and the home ministry,” he said, insisting that only a judicial investigation could ensure an impartial probe.
Both lawmakers objected to recent remarks by Prime Minister KP Oli, who reportedly called RSP and RPP “anti-system and anti-parliamentary.” Sah recited an Urdu couplet to express his discontent: “For life, Ghalib kept wiping the mirror, unaware the dust lay on his own face,” implying that the government was blaming others while failing to see its own faults.
Sah also criticized the lack of action against former Minister Raj Kumar Gupta despite the leak of an audio recording in which Gupta was allegedly involved in a bribery deal. He questioned why other names mentioned in the recording were being protected.
After Sah and Pradhan presented their statements, both RSP and RPP walked out of the House, prompting a fierce response from ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress.
Nepali Congress Chief Whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire accused the opposition of misleading the public through false propaganda. “Who here hasn’t traveled on a visit visa? Is every such traveler a human trafficker?” he asked. He warned that such behavior—using the House to spread misinformation and disrupt proceedings—would tarnish the dignity of parliament.
Ghimire likened the opposition’s tactics to those of Nazi propagandist Goebbels and called for an end to what he termed “abuse” of parliamentary space.
UML lawmaker Thakur Gaire also criticized the walkout, saying that abandoning dialogue and obstructing parliament would not solve the people’s problems. “Parliament is a space for debate, dialogue, and solutions. We are heading in the wrong direction,” he said, urging all parties to be responsible and cooperative.
He also raised concerns about delays in passing key legislation, including bills on education, civil service, and police reforms, despite earlier commitments to do so.
Meanwhile, lawmakers demanded clarification from the government regarding reports that the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs is drafting a bill to legalize polygamy.
UML lawmaker Sunita Baral rejected any such move, calling it unacceptable and highlighting the need for careful, responsible lawmaking on sensitive issues. Maoist Centre lawmaker Rupa So. Shi (Chaudhary) also questioned the government’s intent, stressing that women are still fighting for their rights and that legalizing polygamy would be a regressive step.
Congress MP Rama Koirala raised concerns over how discussions about such a sensitive bill had already reached social media and the press before being formally introduced in parliament, calling on the government to clarify its position.
Beyond the scandals, several lawmakers raised concerns about issues affecting farmers. Ram Prakash Chaudhary from the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) said farmers in the Tarai region had not received any relief despite it being declared a disaster zone. Problems like irrigation shortages, broken tube wells, lack of fertilizers, and poor infrastructure had left farmers in distress, he said.
Congress MP Ishwari Neupane echoed these concerns, saying subsidized fertilizers were not reaching farmers. JSP MP Ranjukumari Jha warned of declining crop yields and emphasized the need for long-term solutions like Chure conservation and irrigation projects.
Other issues raised included: shortage of medical staff and resources at Bir Hospital (UML MP Jwala Kumari Sah), rising number of road accidents and need for vehicle inspections (Maoist Centre MPs Ram Kumar Rai and Gyanu Basnet Subedi), pollution from industries in Simara affecting health and agriculture (Unified Socialist MP Krishna Kumar Shrestha) and crop destruction by wild animals in Arghakhanchi (UML MP Bijula Rayamajhi)
The parliamentary session underscored growing political tension and public concern over governance, lawmaking, and accountability.
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