NC lawmakers have registered at least nine such motions at the parliament secretariat as of Friday for discussion at the meeting of House of Representatives.

KATHMANDU, Jan 12: A few days after Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers disrupted a parliament meeting, members of the main opposition party have, one after another, started registering motions of public importance and resolution motions in parliament to exert pressure on the government.

The move by the opposition lawmakers comes after Prime Minister KP Oli refused to entertain lawmakers' questions after addressing the parliament on Sunday. NC lawmakers have registered at least nine such motions at the parliament secretariat as of Friday for discussion at the meeting of House of Representatives.

Members of Parliament including Dila Sangraula, Metmani Chaudhary and Devendra Raj Kandel have registered at least two motions each in a week.

Out of seven public motions registered at parliament secretariat after the commencement of the winter session, four were registered by the main opposition NC lawmakers. Dila Sangraula has registered a motion demanding actions for road safety, Prakash Snehi Rasaili has sought government initiatives to curb inflation, Metmani Chaudhary has demanded settlement of squatters and Devendra Raj Kandel has sought government initiative to stop the decline in customs revenue.

Three other mothers of public importance have been registered by the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmakers including Khagaraj Adhikari, Brijesh Kumar Gupta and Dal Bahadur Rana. Adhikari has demanded affordable healthcare for all, Gupta has sought immediate issuance of pending driving licenses and Rana has demanded that the government work to manage the squatters.

According to under-secretary at the parliament secretariat Rajan Ghimire, four motions of public importance have been approved by a selection committee for discussion in parliament while the committee has yet to ascertain whether the remaining motions qualify discussion in parliament. Ruling NCP chief hhip Dev Gurung heads the selection committee and makes recommendations to Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

Similarly, NC lawmaker Devendra Raj Kandel alone registered two motions demanding a ban on buying second-hand aircraft citing increasing air accidents involving such planes and review of provincial boundary at Bardaghat-Susta area between Gandaki province and Province-5, on Friday.

“We moved to register multiple such motions after the prime minister snubbed the opposition parliamentarians. Our party has also instructed lawmakers to play active role from the opposition bench,” said Kandel.

Similarly out of the four resolution motions, three were registered by NC lawmakers. NC lawmaker Dila Sangraula registered a resolution motion seeking government commitment from the government that tragedies like Nirmala Panta rape and murder do not recur. Former Minister and NC lawmaker Narayan Khadka has registered a motion demanding better management of public libraries while Metmani Chaudhary has demanded solution to the problems of squatters. Ruling NCP lawmaker Hridayash Tripathi has also registered a resolution motion demanding that the government determine the prices of agricultural products.

But given the pressure to pass several more important bills, such motions are unlikely to be discussed in parliament soon, said an official at the parliament secretariat.

 
• Nepali_Congress_main_opposition_party_NC_lawmakers_disrupted_parliament_meeting