KATHMANDU: Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chair Rajendra Lingden on Monday called the ongoing situation in the House of Representatives the “darkest period in Nepal’s parliamentary history,” as he slammed the ruling coalition for pushing ahead with parliamentary proceedings while ignoring demands for an investigation into the recent visit visa scandal.
Speaking during Monday’s parliamentary session, Lingden expressed strong objections to what he described as a forced attempt to run the House, despite continued protests from major opposition parties.
“This is a black chapter in our parliamentary history,” he said. “Even as two major political forces have been protesting for over a month and a half, the House continues to operate under sheer indifference and irresponsibility—not just by the government but also by the Speaker himself.”
Lingden went on to draw a metaphorical comparison between the current government, formed by a Nepali Congress and CPN-UML alliance, and the Nepali folktale of the deceitful jackal.
“They boasted about defeating royalists and republic-opposers, only to end up behaving like the jackal that cries ‘hawk! hawk!’ only to snatch the chicks below,” he said sarcastically.
Accusing the coalition of plundering the country under the guise of governance, Lingden warned that the people would no longer sit idly by. He declared that his party would continue to raise its voice against government misconduct inside the parliament and, if necessary, take to the streets.
“It is unacceptable that while the people are distracted, the government formed by the two biggest parties sits in the cabinet and loots the nation. We are voicing our opposition here in the House, but if needed, we will oppose this on the streets as well,” he said.
Lingden also cautioned against misinterpreting the demands being raised regarding the visit visa scandal.
“We are not against people going abroad on visit visas. What we are protesting is the organized and systematic extortion of money from citizens under the pretext of arranging these visas,” he clarified. “This government has turned the desperation of unemployed youth seeking opportunities abroad into a business of exploitation.”
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