NC to lift house obstruction from today

KATHMANDU, Feb 11: After obstructing three consecutive meetings of the House of Representatives, the main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to end the obstruction of parliament from Tuesday. 

According to party leaders, a meeting of the Central Working Committee of the NC has asked its parliamentary party to end the house obstruction as the party plans nation-wide protests against the ‘politically motivated’ decision of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to charge one of its influential leaders in a corruption case. 

According to party insiders, an official decision will be taken by NC parliamentary party before the House meeting begins on Tuesday afternoon. 

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“We are going to end the obstruction of parliament from tomorrow (Tuesday) but the party will protest across the nation over the politically-motivated move of the CIAA,” said a central committee member of the NC seeking anonymity. 

Meetings of the lower house have been adjourned three times recently due to the obstruction caused by the NC expressing objection to the decision of the anti-graft body to file corruption case against its leader Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar over the Lalita Niwas land scam. 

The NC has accused the CIAA of filing corruption case against its vice president Gachchhadar while exonerating some ruling party leaders who were implicated by a probe committee formed by the government to investigate into the land scam. 

Speaking at the party meeting on Monday, Gachchhadar claimed that the corruption charge filed against him by the CIAA was done under political influence of the ruling party. 

“I just approved the master plan for expansion of the prime minister’s official residence in Baluwatar in the capacity of the minister for physical infrastructure and planning at that time. My ministry was not informed about the status of the land -- whether it was disputed or not,” a leader quoted Gachchhadar as saying at the meeting. 

Meanwhile, the NC has asked the government to evacuate Nepali citizens from the coronavirus-affected areas of China including Wuhan, where the deadly virus is believed to have originated.