KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 14

The main opposition party, CPN- UML, today obstructed proceedings of both houses of the Parliament – the House of Representatives and the National Assembly - over alleged bias of Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota against it and the government's failure to end deadlock in the Parliament.

As soon as the speaker started House proceedings on the first day of the winter session, UML lawmakers swarmed the House well and began sloganeering. They have been protesting against Sapkota saying that he discriminated against the UML by refusing to confirm expulsion of 14 UML lawmakers of the rival faction led by Madhav Kumar Nepal/Jhalanth Khanal. The rival faction split the UML and formed a new party CPN (Unified Socialist) in August.

Amidst UML protest in the Parliament, Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Dilendra Prasad Badu tabled in the HoR some of the ordinances that the government had issued recently, whereas Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Renu Kumari Yadav tabled the new ordinances in the NA.

UML lawmaker Khimlal Bhattarai told the National Assembly that the government was not taking any initiative to end the deadlock in the Parliament and had failed to ensure good governance or control price rise. 'Today banks are not disbursing loans to the public and farmers are not getting the much-needed fertilisers, yet the government is not doing anything about it,' he added.

Following the UML protest, Sapkota adjourned the HoR meeting till December 21. NA Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina adjourned the Upper House till December 20.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 15, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.