NC to take initiative to end House impasse

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 15: A meeting of the ruling Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party decided to take initiative to resume the parliament meetings by holding talks with the ruling parties as well as with the main opposition, CPN (UML) and other parties.

Appealing to the main opposition party to end the House impasse and create an environment to discuss all the issues in the parliament, the NC’s PP meeting concluded here on Monday.

It said that obstruction of the House for a long time was improper as such an act could beget disenchantment among the people about the parliamentary system.

After the meeting, NC chief whip Ramesh Lekhak said that issues relating to the people's concerns could not be raised in the parliament and many bills lay pending because of the obstruction in the House. 

"Tabling of the new bills and election of leadership in the thematic committees of the House of Representatives have been obstructed," he said. 

Lekhak further said that discussions on the loss of property and lives from the landslides and floods, loss of livestock from lumpy skin disease and other issues related to people's lives were impossible in the parliament because of House obstruction. 

The NC urged the CPN-UML to allow discussions in the parliament by ending obstruction. 

The party also urged the government to book all culprits involved in gold smuggling by conducting a fair, independent and in-depth investigation. 

The meeting said its serious attention was drawn to the arrest of the smugglers of gold only after they passed through the customs of the Tribhuvan International Airport. Lekhak said it was worrisome that illegally brought gold passed from the airport where all government agencies continuously keep surveillance.

"What is more worrisome is such incidents occur frequently. Such illegal acts need to be totally controlled and culprits brought to the legal jurisdiction," he said. 

The party stated such criminal act was investigated by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and other government institutions established to investigate, probe and prosecute. 

In the meeting, party president and Parliamentary Party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba said gold smuggling had not been stopped for years. 

He suggested importing gold by imposing a tax to stop smuggling as gold smuggling was going on to meet the growing demands. 

The meeting also said important bills like transitional justice-related bills, money laundering, corruption control and others which needed to be endorsed by the parliament in earnest were still pending.  

Urging the government and all parties active in the parliament to endorse the pending bills as soon as possible, the party also demanded a bill that ensures voting rights to Nepalis living abroad, and implementation of the constitution, consolidation of the federal democratic republic and fundamental rights.

The meeting also decided to correct the mistakes in the annual budget of the FY 2023/24.