KATHMANDU, Jan 26: Sher Bahadur Deuba, president of the ruling coalition party Nepali Congress, has instructed the federal ministers from the party to keep mum about their personal opinions on the ordinances to be presented at the parliament.
Speaking at a meeting of the party’s ministers, office-bearers and former office-bearers held at Singha Durbar on Saturday, Deuba directed the party members, particularly the ministers, to not publicly express their personal opinion on the ordinances set to be presented at the parliament during its winter session.
A number of leaders of the NC had criticized the government following the coalition government’s move of introducing one ordinance after another by bypassing the parliament. However, Saturday's meeting gave a clear message that the ministers from the party are not supposed to have personal opinion on the issue, rather submit to the NC’s top leader’s view that the ordinance is presently a compelling need for ‘immediately reforming the stagnant economic sector’.
Talking to a group of reporters after the conclusion of the meeting, Chief Whip of NC Shyam Ghimire claimed that the party’s president had instructed the party ministers to unite in line with the party’s official stance that there is a ‘dire need’ of the ordinances.
“The government has brought some ordinances after realizing the need for immediate reforms. The party president instructed the ministers to present the ordinances in the upcoming parliament session as a united front and to present them as a united front outside of the parliament as well,” said Chief Whip Ghimire.
The NC is going to present the ordinance in the parliament in unison with its ruling partner CPN-UML. The top leadership of the Congress has instructed the party rank and file to be united in favor of the ordinance both inside and outside the parliament.
NC Chief Whip Ghimire also revealed that Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak informed the meeting about the government’s activities, including the ordinances brought by the government. Ghimire stated that Minister Lekhak also informed the meeting that the government brought the ordinances as there is a need to immediately reform some laws to end the long-standing stagnation of the economic sector and make it dynamic.
Chief Whip Ghimire said that there was an in-depth discussion in the meeting about the bills to be presented in parliament, ordinances and upcoming bills. According to him, Agriculture Minister Ramnath Adhikari and Health Minister Pradip Paudel also informed about the progress of their ministries during the discussion.