KATHMANDU: Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire on Saturday held a meeting with chief whips of major political parties in a bid to resolve the ongoing deadlock in the lower house.
The discussion took place at the Speaker’s office in the Federal Parliament Building in New Baneshwor ahead of Saturday’s parliamentary session. Speaker Ghimire engaged with representatives from both ruling and opposition parties to seek a breakthrough.
Those present at the meeting included Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula of the CPN-UML, Hit Raj Pandey of the CPN (Maoist Centre), and Santosh Pariyar of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and whip Sushila Thing of the Nepali Congress. Deputy Speaker Indira Rana was also in attendance.
According to sources familiar with the meeting, the RSP reiterated its position that it would continue obstructing parliamentary proceedings until a high-level probe committee is formed to investigate the visit visa scandal.
The obstruction has persisted for days, with RSP accusing the government of shielding powerful figures allegedly involved in visa fraud. Despite efforts at dialogue, no resolution was reached during the meeting.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is expected to address Parliament later in the day, but the RSP has already made clear that its protest will continue during his speech.
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