HoR session: Opposition and ruling chief whips exchange barbs at the start

Kathmandu, February 11 — The main opposition party, CPN (Maoist Center), has raised concerns over the government's lack of accountability towards Parliament, voicing its opposition in the House.

The party also objected to the agenda set by the Speaker and Parliament Secretariat for the meeting.

During the start of Tuesday's parliamentary session, Chief Whip of the Maoist Center, Hitaraj Pandey, took emergency time to address the issue, stating that the government had shown disrespect to Parliament and ignored the voice of the people's representatives. 

Pandey questioned, " The anti-corruption bill was supposed to be passed today, but we were informed that the government has removed it from the agenda due to time constraints. Shouldn't the government adhere to the agenda set by Parliament?"

He further raised concerns about the government’s negligence regarding legislative processes, specifically pointing out the government’s failure to address the corruption issue.

After Pandey’s statement, the ruling UML's Chief Whip, Mahesh Bartaula, responded by defending the Speaker's role, stating that the Speaker has the authority to manage the parliamentary agenda, including removing or adding items.

Rashtriya Swatantra Party MP Ganesh Parajuli also questioned the ruling parties, asking, "Are MPs now supposed to teach the Speaker how to conduct the session?"