Kathmandu, July 2: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has prorogued the ongoing budget session of the Parliament.
“I have prorogued the current season of both the Houses pursuant to Article 93 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal from 5pm Thursday as per the recommendation of the Cabinet,” reads a statement issued by President Bhandari.
A Cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday had recommended prorogation of the current session of the House. Bhandari prorogued the session within a few hours of the Cabinet’s recommendation.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had held a one-on-one meeting with Bhandari.
The budget session that started on May 8 is the sixth session of the federal parliament. Though the Parliament completed its constitutional obligation of endorsing the national budget, many crucial bills are still awaiting approval.
NC Criticises Govt’s Move
Kathmandu, July 2: Expressing serious concern over the abrupt decision to prorogue the ongoing budget session, the main opposition party, Nepali Congress (NC), has said that the latest move of the government showed that it is not serious about addressing the difficult situation brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
NC Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma in a statement on Thursday said that it is unfortunate to see the effects of the ruling party’s internal disputes in the parliament. The party also said that the government had not held any consultation with the party before taking a decision to prorogue the ongoing House session.
“The dispute within the ruling party is one thing. But it is not only unfortunate but also objectionable to see the negative effects of the intra-party disputes within a political party in the house session. It was necessary for parliament as a whole to forge a common view and revise the strategies to move ahead in order to tackle the global pandemic of COVID-19 that has already taken the lives of many and infected thousands of others,” the NC said in the statement. “But the government has shown sheer indifference toward that by taking the abrupt decision to prorogue house sessions.”
The NC also said that it is unfortunate for the government to prorogue the house sessions even as some important bills including that of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact await endorsement from parliament. “What is important — lives of the people or power politics? While asking this question to the honorable prime minister, Nepali Congress expresses disagreement over the move to abruptly end the sessions of the federal parliament,” the NC further said.
From The Kathmandu Post And Republica
