By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Oct. 19: Members of the federal parliament from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) have decided to deposit the Dashain allowance they have received in the Corona Fund.

A meeting of the whips of the NCP parliamentary party in presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the leader of the NCP parliamentary party, made the decision to this effect on Monday.

We have decided to deposit the amount which lawmakers representing our party in the federal parliament receive as the Dashain allowance in the Corona Fund, said deputy leader of the NCP parliamentary party, Subash Nembang.

NCP has 220 members in the federal parliament -174 lawmakers in House of Representatives (HoR0 and 46 in National Assembly (NA).

Earlier, some lawmakers including NCP spokesperson and NA member Narayan Kaji Shrestha have announced that they would not receive the Dashain allowance. Shrestha has not taken any salary and allowances since April saying that his salary and allowance as an NA member be used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

HoR Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has also announced he would deposit the Dashain allowance in the Corona Fund.

Shreedhar Neupane, press coordinator of Speaker Sapkota, said the Speaker took the decision in view of the COVID-19 crisis in the country. Speaker Sapkota has expressed thanks to both the ruling and opposition parties for their decision to channel the Dashain allowance into Corona Fund for treatment of COVID-19 patients.