Kathmandu, December 26

On the first day of the Parliament’s winter session today, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba told the government to be prepared for a stormy session.

Speaking from the rostrum of the House of Representatives today, Deuba lambasted the government on several issues.

He said it had failed to maintain peace and security. He accused it of protecting those responsible for raping and murdering 13-year old Nirmala Panta of Kanchanpur district. “The police are torturing innocent people in an attempt to extract confessions in the Nirmala case,” he alleged.

He said the government was not sincere in implementing federalism or amending the constitution. It has not been able to take Madhesis, Tharus and Janajatis into confidence on issues of constitution amendment, he added.

He said the government did not have any plan to move the transitional justice process forward, as tenure  of the two transitional justice mechanisms would end in a few weeks.

Deuba also opposed the civil servants adjustment ordinance. “The government is trying to

scare civil servants. It should have tried to enact a new civil service act through the Parliament without taking the ordinance route,” he argued.

Deuba sought a probe into the purchase of two wide-body aircraft. “We are not going to let those who embezzled government money go scot-free,” he added.

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal Presidium Coordinator Rajendra Mahato and Naya Shakti Party-Nepal Coordinator Baburam Bhattarai also criticised the government.

Bhattarai said the government’s handling of international affairs had riled the international community. “The government should pursue a balanced foreign policy,” he added.

Mahato criticised the government for not allowing party lawmaker Resham Chaudhary to take the oath of office and secrecy.

Dahal said the ruling and opposition parties needed to work in collaboration to enact new laws and implement the new constitution. “We cannot even imagine authoritarianism. We won’t abandon the democratic system because we fought for democratic values,” he added. He claimed that the government was serious about arresting those responsible for the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta. He said it was the responsibility of both the ruling and opposition parties to bring the culprit(s) to book.