Speaker Ghimire discusses with RSP and RPP leaders

Kathmandu, July 22: Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Devraj Ghimire on Tuesday discussed with the leaders of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), who are continuously staging protests in the parliament over the visa scam.

The Speaker of the Lower House discussed the matter with RSP Acting President DP Aryal and RPP Vice-President Buddhiman Tamang in the presence of Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya. During the meeting, Speaker Ghimire admitted, “Both parties have not been participating in the parliamentary proceedings. The lack of dialogue between you and the government has adversely impacted the parliamentary business. As the Speaker of the House, I am feeling uncomfortable.”

According to him, the prolonged obstruction of the House had stalled the introduction of 121 bills the incumbent government had pledged to introduce in this new fiscal year. “I urge the government and the opposition parties to create an enabling environment to run the parliamentary business. I have nothing to comment on regarding your principles and political issues. But the parliamentary business has certainly been affected,” the Speaker asserted. Likewise, Minister Chaurasiya mentioned that the government had already initiated the probe into the visa scam by forming an investigation committee.

“The government is not going to overlook the opposition. The government has been holding discussions with the RSP and RPP leaders. You should be flexible to reach a point of consensus. The government will do the necessary homework towards it,” the Minister said, calling on the leaders for leniency on their part towards their stance. In response, RSP’s Acting Chairperson Aryal retorted, “We acknowledged that the Speaker has been continuously taking initiatives to forge a consensus. He has even postponed many meetings in a bid to forge consensus. However, the issues we have raised are very serious.”

Similarly, RPP Vive-Chairperson Tamang echoed similar sentiments as Aryal and said that his party has already raised the issue of the visit VISA scam, and there was no way the opposition parties were going to budge from their stance without a consensus. “The government must take this issue seriously.” He expressed displeasure over the lack of disclosure of the works of the Bairagi Investigation Committee to the parliament.