While the NC and CPN-UML had earlier obstructed the House meeting on January 16, 15 small joined obstruction on Friday.[break]
As the opposition parties continued with their protest at the parliament meeting, Speaker Subas Nembang issued a ruling drawing the government´s attention to concerns raised by the opposition parties.
“Opposition parties in parliament have repeatedly been obstructing the House meetings and it is not good to keep the issue unanswered,” Nembang said before adjourning the meeting.
“I therefore, seriously draw the government´s attention toward the issue.” Nembang adjourned the meeting without entering into the scheduled business, as lawmakers from NC, UML and other small parties including CPN-ML, CPN (Samyukta), Rastriya Janashakti Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal stood up from their seats in protest.
Earlier, Pushpa Bhusal of NC and Agni Kharel of UML addressed the meeting had announced that they wouldn´t let the House resume business until the government revoked its decision and the prime minister apologized before parliament.
“The Maoists forcibly made the innocent villagers sign the documents. The naïve villagers had been expecting that a legitimate government would do justice with them. But the government has betrayed them by imposing the decisions of the people´s government,” Bhusal said in parliament.
Accusing the chief secretary, other government secretaries and officials of cooperating with the ministers in taking the “illegal decision”, Bhusal said, “Either the top officials should tell us that they have no idea about how the government took the decision or furnish clarifications on why they forwarded such a file to the cabinet and suggested to the minister to take the decision,” she added.
Similarly, Kharel asked the leaders from the ruling Madhesi parties to choose one of the two options available to them. “Either you endorse all the proposals of the Maoist-led government irrespective of their legality or stand against them if you believe in the constitution and the rule of law.”
He was of the view that non-Maoist parties can never accept the decision to legalize the decisions taken by the “people´s government, saying that would set a wrong precedent. “Based on that precedent, the Maoists will take another decision to recognize the orders issued by the kangaroo courts run by the Maoists during the insurgency,” argued Kharel.
“Honorable Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who was elected from this parliament as per the constitution and took oath of office and secrecy vowing to work in accordance with this constitution doesn´t and mustn´t recognize (know) the head of the then so-called “people´s government”,” said Kharel.
Earlier in the day, NC and UML had held a meeting with 15 small parties represented in parliament to garner their support against the government decision.
Talking to media persons, Prakash Chandra Lohani of Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP) said they have agreed to join forces with the NC and the UML in obstructing House proceedings until the government revokes the decision.
“The Maoists are trying to impose their own decisions against the constitution, CPA and other past agreements. This has proved that the Maoists are still not sincere toward drafting the new constitution and concluding the peace process,” said Lohani.
PM assures of ending House stalemate
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has assured Speaker Subas Nembang that he would take the initiative to end House obstruction without any delay.
“I will take all possible initiatives without any delay to end House obstruction,” Nembang quoted the prime minister as telling him at the meeting. Nembang had visited the prime minister at the latter´s official residence on Friday evening to draw his attention toward the situation.
Nembang told the prime minister that the stalemate in parliament was seriously affecting the task of drafting the new constitution and concluding the peace process.
“I also drew the prime minister´s attention toward the lack of progress in constitution writing as the Constitutional Committee (of the Constituent Assembly) has failed to make any progress in recent days,” Nembang told Republica.
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