KATHMANDU: Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara on Friday asked lawmakers who supported Sections 2 to 53 of the National Medical Education Bill to say ‘aye’ and those who were against it to say ‘nay’. The majority of lawmakers said ‘aye’ and hardly anyone could be heard saying ‘nay’. Yet to everyone’s surprise Mahara said, “Majority of lawmakers had said ‘nay’, so the sections of the bill ‘have been passed.”

“It was a slip of tongue. Mahara meant to say the clauses had been endorsed because most lawmakers were in their favour,” said a former senior official of the Parliament Secretariat. “However, he did correct his mistake. This shows his immaturity and raises questions over his ability to steer House sessions.”