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Bimala Ghimire of the CPN-UML and Bishnu Devi Pudasaini of the Nepali Congress filed their nominations for the post of National Assembly vice-chairperson on Tuesday.

They filed their candidacies at the Lhotse Hall of the federal Parliament building for the election of the upper house vice-chair to be held on Wednesday.

The UML had already decided to field Ghimire as its candidate for the election to the National Assembly vice-chair. She has the support of the ruling alliance.

Meanwhile, a Congress Parliamentary Work Execution Committee meeting held on Tuesday morning had decided to pick Pudasaini as the party candidate for the election.

Pudasaini was elected as a National Assembly member from Bagmati Province.

According to the Secretariat, the filing of nominations will be held from 11:45 am to 1:45 pm.

The post remained vacant after Urmila Aryal, who was elected as the National Assembly vice-chair unopposed on January 17, 2023, tendered her resignation on March 28.

The Nepali Congress has decided to field Bishu Devi Pudasaini as its candidate for the post of National Assembly vice-chair.

A Parliamentary Party meeting held this morning made the decision to this effect.

Pudasaini, who became a common candidate from the then Congress-Maoist alliance, was elected from Bagmati Province.

The filing of nominations will be held at the Lhotse Hall of the federal Parliament building today for the election of National Assembly vice-chair scheduled for Wednesday, the Parliament Secretariat said.

According to the Secretariat, the filing of nominations will be held from 11:45 am to 1:45 pm.

Urmila Aryal, who was elected as the National Assembly vice-chair unopposed on January 17, 2023, resigned from the post on March 28.

The main opposition Nepali Congress is to obstruct the Parliament meeting.

A meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party held this morning has decided not to allow the House to function if the parliamentary committee is not formed to probe cooperative fraud charges against Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane, Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said.

He said that Home Minister Lamichhane was involved in misappropriating the cooperative funds.

Leader Lekhak was of the opinion that the Parliament cannot move ahead without forming a parliamentary probe committee.

He said that the government will be held responsible if the proceedings of the federal Parliament are obstructed.

Madhes Province Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav has said both immediate and long-term plans are imperative to solve drinking water problems in Madhes.

During a consultative seminar organized by the Drinking Water and Drainage Department under the federal government on quality water supply in Madhes on Monday, CM Yadav informed that as the ground water table was sinking in the southern belt of Madhes for some years, it resulted in a drinking water crisis. So, the federal government must launch programs with both sorts of plan, he underlined.

He thanked the federal government for deciding to supply some water from Sunkoshi Marine Diversion after processing for drinking water in six districts of Madhes Province. "This plan is laudable. Madhes Province is committed to work in collaboration. As it takes time for completion of the project, we need immediate plans," he said and urged the federal government to pay heed to this urgency.

"I want to urge the federal government to launch immediate plans and programs so that the drinking water problem would be addressed on time," he said.

In the program held under the chairmanship of federal Minister for Drinking Water, Rajendra Kumar Rai, Chair of Women, Children and Social Committee of the House of Representatives, Kiran Sah; former Minister for Drinking Water, Mahendra Raya; and Minister for Energy, Drinking Water and Irrigation in province, Singhashan Saha, among others spoke on present situation of water supply and further strategy. 

Director at Drinking Water and Drainage Department, Kamal Raj Shrestha, had presented a working paper in the seminar.