Kathmandu, July 20

Major parties have not budged from their respective stances on what should be the first agenda when the Parliament meets tomorrow the no-trust motion against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government or the three budget-related bills -- despite several attempts of Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar to forge consensus on the issue.

She has called a meeting of top leaders of the three major parties at her office in Singha Durbar tomorrow morning in her bid to forge consensus before tomorrow’s House meeting slated for 11:00am.

If consensus bid fails, the Speaker is prepared to put the no-trust motion as the first agenda, according to her Press Adviser Babin Sharma.

As soon as the Parliament meets tomorrow, the Speaker will ask CPN-Maoist Centre’s Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to table the motion, as he is the main proposer of the motion registered on July 13.

It is unlikely that the motion will move in a normal way, as ruling CPN-UML today decided to obstruct the House proceedings if the budget-related bills were not put for debate first.

If the proceedings are obstructed, the Speaker may postpone the meeting for some hours and call the leaders of major parties in bid to forge consensus again.

It is unlikely that the motion will be put to vote tomorrow itself even if discussion on the motion starts in a normal way.

If normal course of events, Dahal will table the motion and justify the tabling of the motion. The Speaker will then begin discussion on the motion, allowing individual members of the Parliament to speak on the motion. After the discussions conclude, the Speaker will put the motion to vote.

As it is almost certain that the Parliament will pass the motion, Oli will then become a caretaker PM until a new PM is elected.

Following the voting, the Speaker will meet President Bidya Bhandari to inform her about the Parliament’s decision, as per the tradition of the Speaker meeting the President in person after the House takes any important decision.

The President will then have to begin the process of electing a new PM. She will have to call the parties to put forth a consensual name within seven days for new PM as per Article 298 of the constitution.

However, the President can adopt two other alternatives. She can seek Supreme Court’s opinion regarding the “constitutional ambiguity” on the formation of a new government under the transitional system or can call the political parties to forge consensus on the process of electing a new PM.

Meanwhile, Deuba and Dahal today held consultations about how to handle the situation tomorrow.

“The two parties concluded that they would be ready to include both the motion and the three bills together at tomorrow’s business schedule.

However, the motion will remain as the first agenda and the bills as second,” said Deuba’s personal secretary Keshav Joshi.

Speaker holds meetings

KATHMANDU: Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar met President Bidhya Bhandari, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal at their residences.

She briefed the President about the attempts she had made so far to avoid the crisis of confidence among the major parties, according to her Press Adviser Babin Sharma. “I will continue my attempts for consensus.

If the parties agree, I will put the budget related bills first in the business list. Otherwise, I will be compelled to put the no-trust motion first as it was already scheduled,” Gharti told the President.

In response, the President urged the Speaker to make all attempts to forge consensus before proceeding, according to the President’s Press Adviser Madhav Sharma.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee called by the Speaker on Wednesday decided to try and forge consensus before Thursday’s House meeting.