Kathmandu, June 9: The House of Representatives (HoR) meeting was adjourned on Tuesday without entering its scheduled agenda after opposition lawmakers, led by the main opposition Nepali Congress, continued their protest over Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s recent remarks on Nepal-India border issues.
Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal announced that the next House meeting will convene on Wednesday at 11:00 am after repeated appeals to protesting lawmakers to allow proceedings to continue went unheeded.
The opposition has been demanding clarification over comments made by Prime Minister Shah during a parliamentary session on May 31 regarding land use along the Nepal-India border. Responding to lawmakers’ queries, the Prime Minister had stated that in some areas land currently used and occupied by Nepal may fall on the Indian side, while land presently under India’s use and occupation could lie on Nepal’s side.
As soon as Tuesday’s session began, opposition lawmakers obstructed proceedings, preventing the House from taking up any of its scheduled business.
The meeting had a packed agenda, including the Speaker’s reading of a letter from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers concerning the assignment of additional responsibilities and the announcement of nominations to the Business Advisory Committee.
The Speaker was also scheduled to inform lawmakers that the Alternative Development Finance Mobilization Bill, 2082 BS, had not been returned by the National Assembly within the prescribed timeframe.
Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle was expected to present a proposal seeking general discussion on the government’s revenue and expenditure estimates for fiscal year 2083/84 BS and initiate deliberations on the national budget. He was also slated to table the Appropriation Bill, 2083 BS, the Public Debt Recovery Bill, 2083 BS, and the Nepal Rastra Bank (Third Amendment) Bill, 2083 BS.
Similarly, Minister for Information and Communications Bikram Timilsina was scheduled to propose sending the Film Bill, 2082 BS, which originated in the National Assembly, to the concerned parliamentary committee for clause-wise discussion.
However, none of the scheduled business could proceed as opposition lawmakers continued their protest, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the meeting until Wednesday. #nepal
