By Our Reporter

The winter session of both the Houses of Federal Parliament began on Friday last week.

On the first day of the meeting in the House of Representatives, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba from the ruling parties addressed the meeting. However, leader of the man opposition Maoist Centre Pushpa Kamal Dahal did not address the first meeting, culminating in the poor presence of the opposition parties. Likewise, Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Unified Socialist also did not address the first meeting.

Instead, Hit Raj Pande from the Maoist Centre and Rajendra Pande spoke.

Likewise, Vice President of the Rastriya Swatantantra Party Dr. Swarnim Wagle and RPP Chairman Rajendra Lingden addressed the meeting with only Lingden presenting his powerful arguments from the opposition. Dr. Wagle spoke against the suspension of party president Rabi Lamichhane after he faced money laundering cases in several courts for embezzling money from multiple cooperatives.

In his address, both PM Oli and Deuba defended the ordinances. Moreover, Oli warned of issuing more ordinances if the House failed to pass the essential laws.

He urged Parliament to move swiftly in endorsing essential laws, bills and acts, assuring lawmakers that the government would do its part in ensuring implementation. “Rest assured, the government will give the House business, the House will make the law, and the government will work accordingly. If we fail, hold us accountable,” he said.

Prime Minister Oli also called for a comprehensive review of the constitution. “We have been saying from the beginning that the constitution is a means for the benefit of the country and the people, not an end. And it is not unamendable,” he said.

To facilitate this, the government has formed an internal study task force, comprising experts and leaders from the Nepali Congress and UML. “We will first identify the issues that need amendment through discussions with various parties. A common understanding will be formed on agreed issues while the rest will be debated further,” he said.

The Prime Minister denounced character assassinations through fake news and fabricated allegations. “A flood of misleading information and rumours is attacking not just leaders but also individuals’ social character. There are even fake videos showing leaders hoarding immense wealth in foreign banks. This is unacceptable,” he said, defending the social media bill registered by the government in the parliament secretariat. 

He also said that the government menu did have no ‘party splitting’ plan. Reiterating his commitment to control corruption, he said," “I do not commit corruption, and I will not allow it to be done."

Likewise, Deuba reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening Nepal’s democratic system, ensuring good governance, and accelerating economic progress.

Deuba also addressed concerns regarding government stability, highlighting that the current administration was formed through a seven-point agreement between the Nepali Congress and the UML. “This coalition is committed to stability and delivering on its promises,” he said.

Calling for bipartisan cooperation in constitutional amendments, Deuba said “Any changes must uphold the core democratic values of federalism, pluralism, and inclusiveness.”

The opposition leaders presented themselves poorly just criticising the government for introducing the ordinances by avoiding the parliament and the social media bill.  

At the beginning of the meeting, lawmakers from the RSP demanded time to speak, which Speaker Devraj Ghimire denied prompting the RSP lawmakers to stand from their seats. The Speaker even had to issue an order to the opposing RSP lawmakers to sit down, which was not abided. Later, the RSP lawmakers boycotted the meeting for 15 minutes and entered the hall while PM was addressing it. Obviously, the RSP wanted to raise voices against the suspension of their president before the House proceeding. What they did on the first day of the meeting looked quite childish.   No other opposition parties supported them, showing a division among the parties regarding the cases being faced by Lamichhane.

The government tabled all six ordinances on the first day of the session on Friday.