KATHMANDU: The meeting of the House of Representatives, which was initially postponed for half an hour on Monday due to opposition protests, has now been rescheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Opposition parties, demanding the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and an investigation into alleged visit visa racketeering at Tribhuvan International Airport, continued their obstruction, leading to the extended suspension of the session.
Earlier on Monday, parties including the CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) obstructed the session. Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire first adjourned the meeting for 30 minutes, but with no consensus reached on Lekhak’s resignation, the session was ultimately deferred for two more days.
While the Maoist Centre and Unified Socialist have softened their stance on demanding Lekhak’s resignation, the RSP continues to hold firm.
On Monday, the party submitted a five-point proposal to the Nepali Congress, which also includes a provision for determining whether the Home Minister should step down.
The demand for Lekhak’s resignation stems from his alleged involvement in the visit visa scandal, which has dominated parliamentary proceedings for several days.
While the Maoist Centre and Unified Socialist are open to a parliamentary investigation committee, the Congress has not yet agreed to form such a body.
Attempts at reaching consensus began Sunday, with Nepali Congress leaders including Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka, General Secretary Gagan Thapa, and MP Gyanendra Bahadur Karki leading the negotiations. The CPN-UML has expressed its willingness to accept any conclusion jointly reached between Congress and the opposition.
Monday’s talks also included RSP Vice Chair Dr. Swarnim Wagle, MPs Biraj Bhakta Shrestha and Santosh Pariyar, and Unified Socialist’s MP Rajendra Pandey. However, due to RSP’s continued insistence on Lekhak’s resignation, no agreement could be reached, pushing the next House session to Wednesday.
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