MP Questions PM's Response Location

Kathmandu. Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has questioned whether Prime Minister Balendra Shah will answer questions raised in the parliament or in the party's general convention. In the meeting of the House of Representatives on Thursday, MP Khusbu Oli objected, stating that although the Prime Minister was asked for a response to his irresponsible statement on sensitive issues like national dignity and borders, he gave his answer at the Rastriya Swatantra Party's general convention.  

MP Oli objected that instead of answering questions raised in the parliament, the Prime Minister chose the stage of his party's Chitwan general convention. "Will the government's official response now come from the party's general convention? Has the sovereign parliament become a smaller institution than the party's platform?" Oli said.  

Reminding that the constitution makes the executive accountable to the parliament, she said that the tendency to ignore the parliament raises questions about the very relevance of parliamentary democracy.  

Discussing the Prime Minister's statement implying that Nepal has encroached upon India's land, MP Oli said that this has lowered the heads of the Nepali people. Recalling the unprecedented unity when the Chuchche map including Limpiyadhura, Lipulek, and Kalapani was passed, she accused the Prime Minister's casual statement of demoralizing the residents of Susta who are fighting on the border.  

MP Oli also questioned the silence of the ruling party MPs on the issue of nationality. "History will not only write what the opposition said, but also when the ruling party spoke and when it remained silent," she said, "How will the 30 million Nepali people understand your silence?"