KATHMANDU: Amid continued disruption in Parliament over the visit visa scandal, opposition parties appear to have softened their stance on demanding Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak’s resignation, but remain firm on their call for a parliamentary investigation committee.
Although discussions were held throughout Sunday between ruling and opposition parties to break the parliamentary deadlock, no formal agreement was reached. The House meeting, scheduled for 1 p.m. and later rescheduled twice, eventually convened at 6:30 p.m. but was adjourned without entering the agenda, following continued obstruction by opposition lawmakers.
The main opposition alliance, including the Maoist Centre, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and CPN (Unified Socialist), has been pressing for a probe into alleged irregularities under the visit visa scheme, in which Minister Lekhak is said to be implicated.
During Sunday’s internal negotiations, Nepali Congress Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka proposed that the government commit to reforms in immigration policies and systems after the CIAA (Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority) concludes its ongoing inquiry. He also suggested that the government express its commitment to form a study and reform committee to address systemic weaknesses.
While the Maoist Centre and Unified Socialist seemed open to this proposal, RSP MPs remained firm in their demand that Lekhak himself be included in the scope of any investigation, questioning his moral authority to remain in office. RSP MPs argued that Lekhak had previously called for ethical accountability when Rabi Lamichhane was Home Minister, and the same standard should now apply to him.
RSP Vice-Chair Dr. Swarnim Wagle, along with MPs Biraj Bhakta Shrestha and Santosh Pariyar, participated in the talks. Unified Socialist leader Rajendra Pandey also joined the discussions, but the parties were unable to reach a consensus before the evening session.
CPN-UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula expressed optimism that parties were close to an understanding and said dialogue would continue on Monday. He added that the government was willing to commit to curbing corruption across state institutions.
However, Maoist Centre Chief Whip Hit Raj Pandey clarified that no final agreement had been reached and reiterated the opposition’s unwavering demand for a parliamentary investigation committee.
RSP Chief Whip Santosh Pariyar echoed similar concerns, saying the ruling coalition had yet to acknowledge the seriousness of the issue. He reaffirmed that forming a probe committee remained the opposition’s minimum demand, while expressing hope that an agreement might still be reached before Monday’s session at 2 p.m.
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