KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli faced and responded to various lawmakers' questions at a meeting of the House of Representatives, today.

This is the first time that PM is fulfilling this statutory obligation after the new parliamentary regulations came into effect eight months ago. Most of the lawmakers posed questions related to the PMO and other ministries under him.

A few days ago, lawmakers from main opposition party, Nepali Congress, had obstructed HoR proceedings demanding explanation from the PM on his address to the House, but the PM had declined to respond to their questions.

However, the that the public and the house were looking forward to him take on questions related to agitating medical activist and senior orthopaedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Gagan Thapa asked the PM as to why the agreement reached between the government and Dr KC at the end of his last hunger strike was not honoured. "The committee presented a distorted report sidelining the original agreement reached between Dr KC and the government. Why was the original agreement not materialised?" Thapa questioned.

PM Oli, in resposne to lawmaker Thapa's question, said, "Is a person's hunger-strike above all rules and laws? A person stages fast unto death and it is expected that facts, law and matters of national significance are ignored."

"An agreement is an agreement, it is not truth and reconciliation. The agreement was reached based on the environment during that time." "Just because somebody holds a majority in the house does not mean they can undermine the parliament's supremacy," Oli added.

The Prime Minister further said, "I can request the house to act in favour of the past agreement but I cannot order it to do so. Nobody is above the law."

It is to be noted that the agitating doctor is on yet another fast-unto-death, his 16th, in protest of the draft of National Medical Education Bill endorsed by a sub-committee of the Parliamentary Education and Health Committee. According to the doctor, the draft bill does not accommodate his demands as per the agreement reached earlier between government and him.