Disagreement between Rabi Lamichhane and Prime Minister Balen Shah over Deputy Speaker appointment

Kathmandu. A disagreement has emerged between Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane and senior leader and Prime Minister Balen Shah regarding which party should be allocated the position of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Sources claim that Rabi and Balen held discussions on the Deputy Speaker issue on Sunday morning. During the meeting, Prime Minister Balen expressed his view that the position should be given to the Labor Culture Party. However, Chairman Rabi stood in favor of giving it to the RPP. It is understood that since no consensus was reached between the two leaders, they are scheduled to meet again this evening.

'Chairman Rabi and the Prime Minister held a discussion this morning regarding which party should be given the Deputy Speaker position. However, they have not reached an agreement. The Prime Minister is in favor of giving it to the Labor Culture Party as it is a new party. The Chairman is in favor of giving it to the RPP. The Chairman has already had a round of talks with RPP parliamentary party leader Gyanendra Shahi. They are meeting again this evening on this matter,' a source told Ratopati.

RSP Vice-Chairman DP Aryal has already been elected as Speaker. According to the constitution, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be from different parties and genders, which is why the top leadership of the RSP has been discussing the Deputy Speaker position. 

Speaker-elect Aryal was in favor of giving the Deputy Speaker position to the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), arguing that it would facilitate constitutional amendments and political decision-making in the future. However, sources say that the possibility of the NCP receiving the post is weak, as both Rabi and Balen are not positive about it. 

'Since the Deputy Speaker becomes a member of the Constitutional Council, three different opinions emerged on who should be appointed. DPG suggested that giving the Deputy Speaker position to the NCP would make it easier to coordinate political matters, including constitutional amendments. However, both Rabi-ji and Balen-ji do not seem positive about his suggestion,' the source said, 'Due to the balance of power, it does not seem likely that the NCP will get the Deputy Speaker position. It is highly likely that either the Labor Culture Party or the RPP will receive it.'

However, RPP parliamentary party leader Gyanendra Shahi has claimed that there has been no discussion with RSP leaders regarding the Deputy Speaker position. 

'Naturally, we have a claim to the Deputy Speaker position. But there has been no discussion with the RSP on this matter,' he said.

There is widespread interest in the Deputy Speaker position because the Constitutional Council is responsible for recommending appointments for heads of constitutional bodies, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and other judges. The Constitutional Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, includes the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairman of the National Assembly, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice as members.