Kathmandu, August 27

The main opposition Nepali Congress has opposed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s move to conduct Cabinet meeting through video conferencing, terming it ‘misuse of technology’.

PM Oli, who is presently undergoing treatment in Singapore, took part in yesterday’s Cabinet meeting through video conferencing. Just before his departure to Singapore, the Cabinet had amended the Cabinet Meeting Operating Procedure, allowing the prime minister or ministers to remotely take part in the meeting through video conferencing.

“The procedure is a serious matter. Although the Cabinet has the authority to amend it, it should not abuse it,” said NC Chief Whip Bal Krishna Khand in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives. “This amendment is completely inappropriate, and should be rolled back immediately.”

Stating that the provision could result in compromise of confidentiality, Khand said the NC had strong reservations about using video conferencing for conducting meeting of a sensitive institution like the Cabinet. “It is wrong practice. If it continues, the NC will take it seriously,” he said.

Khand also said at a time when Oli had already designated an acting prime minister, his presence in the meeting remotely from Singapore made the world laugh.

Khand also questioned whether the HoR speaker could conduct HoR meeting remotely through video conferencing when he was abroad, or the chief justice could conduct meeting of the judiciary through telepresence.