Kathmandu, April 9

Nepali Congress leaders have said the government is reluctant to call the session of Legislature Parliament because it fears the opposition will raise its voice against the government’s inability to deal with various atrocities and the burning problems of the country.

Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi said the government has been dilly-dallying and not calling the House session although there is urgent need to find solutions to many national problems, including the problem of boundaries of federal units by holding discussions in Parliament.

“We will watch for a few days and hope the government will call the session at the earliest. If it does not do so, we will appeal to the Speaker to call the House session. However, the party will take a decision in this regard after holding parliamentary party meeting,” said Nidhi.

The Speaker is supposed to call the House session if one-fourth members of Parliament submit a written appeal for the same as per Article 93 (3) of the new constitution.

Nidhi said the government was trying to make political appointments in government bodies and federal structures that are yet to be set up haphazardly.

“Once the Parliament session begins, we will raise these issues,” he said.

Supply of essential goods has not become normal even two months after Madhes-based parties lifted the four-month long Nepal-India border blockade, said NC Chief Whip Chinkaji Shrestha, adding, “Black-marketing is rampant and the government has not been able to carry out reconstruction works even although it is almost one year after the devastating earthquake of April 25.”

It seems unwilling to call the House session due to fear that the opposition will raise these issues, he said.

The practice of calling a brief House session before the budget session to maintain the tradition of holding two sessions a year has now become uncertain due to the wrangling between ruling parties and the main opposition NC, that are at odds over finalising the provision related to parliamentary hearing in the Legislature-Parliament regulations.

It is too late to call the winter session, which usually would have been called between mid-December and mid-January as per tradition. The government may be unwilling to call the winter session as it will have to call the budget session by the end of April to table the fiscal budget in the Parliament on May 28 as per the provision of the new constitution.

The ruling CPN-UML’s Chief Whip Bhanubhakta Dhakal said the government was still in consultation with regard to calling the session and it is yet to decide.

“However, the issue of calling the House session has been delayed because of the non-cooperation shown by the Nepali Congress in finalising Parliament regulations,” he said.

As Speaker Onsari Gharti, along with the chief whips of major parties, are scheduled to go for a weeklong Europe visit in a few days and as the government will have to call the budget session by April end, it is unlikely that the brief session will take place prior to the budget session, said Parliament Secretariat Secretary Mukunda Sharma. “The winter session might have been delayed as the previous session lasted for nearly five months,” he said, adding that there is no mandatory provision which states that two sessions must be called within a year in the transitional provision of the new constitution.

The previous Parliament session was prorogued on February 17, 139 days after it commenced.