Parliamentary business put off until no-trust motion is debated in the House

Kathmandu, July 15

Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar postponed today’s House meeting till July 21 so as to first allow a debate on no-trust motion moved by the Nepali Congress and the CPN-Maoist Centre.

The Secretary General of the Parliament Manohar Prasad Bhattarai had listed Finance Bill, Bill to Raise Domestic Loan and Loan and Guarantee Bill as the day’s agendas.

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The Parliament Secretariat pasted a notice on its notice board stating that today’s House meeting scheduled for 1:00pm could not take place due to special reasons and another meeting of the House was scheduled for July 21.

Speaking to reporters on the premises of the Parliament, the Speaker said the constitution and the parliamentary regulations were silent on allowing other House businesses to be debated after a no-confidence motion was moved in the House or not allowing any House business until the House debated a no-trust motion.

“Had there been consensus among the political parties on allowing other House businesses even before discussing the no-trust motion, I could have followed that practice but since there is no consensus among the parties about this, I followed the call of my wisdom to postpone other House proceedings until the no-trust motion is debated in the House,” she added.

She said she had played a neutral role on the issue and she would prove her neutrality by her actions in the future also.

The Speaker’s decision, however, angered the ruling CPN-UML.

UML Chief Whip Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal told mediapersons that today’s businesses of the House had been set on the basis of consensus reached among the parties, and therefore, the House should have debated today’s agenda rather than postponing the day’s business.

He said only a notice of no-trust motion had been served to the Parliament and it was yet to decide whether or not the government commands majority in the House.

He termed the postponement of the House business a conspiracy and said the decision to postpone the day’s business would invite confrontation between the ruling and the opposition parties.

Dhakal also said his party was ready to take up the challenge.

Senior Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Paudel said   the opposition parties were of the view that if they voted in favour of the bills and if they were passed, the government, against which no-trust motion had already been moved, could interpret it as winning the confidence of the House.

He said it was the Speaker’s prerogative to postpone the House meeting.

Lawmakers and senior government officials told The Himalayan Times that delay in ratification of these bills would not affect day-to-day businesses of the government in the coming days.