Speaker Aryal States No Authority to Schedule PM's Parliament Attendance

Kathmandu. Speaker of the House of Representatives Dol Prasad Aryal has stated that he has no authority to set a date for Prime Minister Balendra Shah to attend a parliamentary session. He clarified this after opposition party lawmakers demanded a ruling to make the Prime Minister's mandatory attendance during the discussion on the government's policies and programs. Speaker Aryal clarified that he has no legal basis or authority to set a schedule for any lawmaker's attendance in the assembly. Speaking in parliament, Speaker Aryal emphasized that as a forum for lawmaking, the session must be conducted based on established rules and laws. Commenting on the lawmakers' desire for certainty regarding the Prime Minister's attendance, he said that the Speaker is unable to determine future schedules. He said, 'We are in a forum for lawmaking. We are conducting this session based on those laws. We want to conduct the session based on them. But what the honorable members are asking now is to ensure the presence of the honorable Prime Minister. I do not see any basis or authority for the Speaker to inquire about the schedule of any honorable member, let alone the honorable Prime Minister, for tomorrow, or to determine whether any honorable member can attend this session tomorrow.' Speaker Aryal urged the opposition lawmakers to allow the session to proceed and also expressed his commitment to discuss the Prime Minister's attendance with him this evening. Following the opposition's obstruction and the Speaker's clarification, the meeting of the House of Representatives has been adjourned for another 15 minutes.