Speaker Ghimire to Consult Top Political Leaders at Singha Durbar Tomorrow

Speaker Devraj Ghimire is scheduled to hold consultations with the top leaders of the major political parties, including the Prime Minister, at his office in Singha Durbar at 11:30 am tomorrow.

The Speaker has called the meeting with the leaders of the main parties in an effort to forge consensus ahead of the upcoming parliamentary session, said Shekhar Adhikari, the press coordinator for the Speaker.

Speaker Ghimire has invited Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (UML) Chair KP Sharma Oli, Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chair Rajendra Lingden to the meeting.

The main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, had continuously obstructed parliamentary proceedings towards the end of the last session, demanding the formation of a parliamentary investigation committee to look into allegations of misappropriation of cooperative funds also involving Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who is also the RSP president.

The Speaker called the meeting for discussions before the commencement of the next session after the obstructions by the Congress affected the House’s business in the previous session.

Speaker Ghimire also called meetings with the top leaders twice during the last session of Parliament to clear the obstruction in the House, but efforts to reach a consensus were unsuccessful. Additionally, separate discussions were held with the chief whips and whips, as well as in the House Business Advisory Committee, to resolve issues raised in the House concerning the cooperative scam.

The monsoon session of Parliament is set to commence on May 10. Speaker Ghimire has been meeting with the presidents of the Parliamentary Committees and the Whips collectively, and with the Chief Whips separately, in a bid to ensure the effectiveness of the upcoming session.

Since being elected to the post 15 months ago, the Speaker has convened nine meetings with top leaders.