KATHMANDU: The visit visa controversy involving Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has stalled parliamentary proceedings for over a week, preventing any discussion on the national budget presented on May 29 by Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel.
Despite constitutional compulsion to table the budget on time, opposition parties have been obstructing both houses of the Federal Parliament since May 27, demanding Lekhak’s resignation over alleged involvement in an illegal visa racket. The budget was presented as scheduled, but no deliberation has taken place since then.
The obstruction continues to paralyze the legislature, delaying critical fiscal planning. On Thursday, efforts were made to resolve the deadlock, with the CPN (Unified Socialist) proposing the formation of a parliamentary probe committee in place of an immediate resignation. The ruling CPN-UML, responded positively to the idea.
However, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has taken a firmer line. Concluding its parliamentary party meeting, RSP said Lekhak should resign to allow an impartial investigation, although the party had not finalized its stance by Thursday evening.
Adding to the political turbulence, a Supreme Court writ has been issued against Maoist Centre spokesperson Agni Prasad Sapkota, while Unified Socialist chair Madhav Nepal faces a corruption case from the CIAA tied to the Patanjali land scandal.
The Maoist Centre has remained silent on the issue; the Unified Socialist has condemned it as politically motivated.
Finance Minister Paudel, meanwhile, announced that budget implementation has already begun in coordination with ministries, despite the lack of parliamentary discussion. He instructed officials to prepare procurement plans to fast-track implementation once the budget is passed.
With no agreement yet between ruling and opposition parties, today’s scheduled sessions of both houses are also likely to be disrupted, further extending the delay in budget deliberations.
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