Opposition parties agree to let Home Minister Lamichhane address parliament

KATHMANDU, May 19: In a recent meeting, opposition parties have agreed to allow Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane to speak at the House of Representatives session on Sunday. 

This decision comes as the ruling parties showed willingness to establish a parliamentary probe committee to investigate the alleged involvement of minister Lamichhane in the misappropriation of cooperative funds. Consequently, the opposition, which had been firm on this demand, decided not to prevent minister Lamichhane from speaking.

The consensus among the opposition parties was reached during their Sunday meeting, where they stood united on the issue of the cooperative fraud case. The move to allow minister Lamichhane to speak follows Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's preparation to seek a vote of confidence on Monday, showing flexibility in forming the probe committee to ensure parliament's smooth functioning.

Therefore, the opposition parties—Nepali Congress (NC), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Janata Samajbadi Party- Nepal (JSP-N), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP), and Janamorcha—expressing dissatisfaction with minister Lamichhane's responses, agreed to continue the parliamentary obstruction.

Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing within a task force to finalize the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the parliamentary committee. The group, coordinated by UML leader and law minister Padam Giri, includes members such as NC’s Jiban Pariyar, UML's Mahesh Bertaula, and RSP’s Shishir Khanal.