The parliament has directed the government to take initiatives for conducting an investigation into the suspicious death of Prisa Sah, a student of Kalinga Institute of Technology (KIIT) in Odisha, India, and to make arrangements for ensuring the safety and security of other Nepali students abroad.
In Monday’s meeting of the House of Representatives, Speaker Devraj Ghimire directed the government to find out what had happened in the case. “The back-to-back deaths of Nepali students who have gone abroad to study seeing a bright future is also a serious question related to the sensitivity and responsibility of the nation. I direct the government to find out the truth, initiate dialogue with the concerned parties and provide necessary judicial support to the family, taking a deep concern over the incident,” said Speaker Ghimire.
He also instructed the government to ensure the safety and security of other Nepali students living abroad. Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament, lawmakers drew the government’s attention to the death of Sah.
Some time ago, Nepali student Prakriti Lamsal was also found dead in suspicious circumstances in the same university. According to the lawmakers, the students studying there have felt more insecure as the incident of the same nature has been repeated again.
Lawmakers Devendra Paudel, Amresh Kumar Singh, Ram Krishna Yadav and Nirmala Koirala, among others, drew the government's attention to the death of Sah.
Similarly, a demand has been raised in the parliament to investigate the arrest of Resham Chaudhary, patron of the Nagarik Unmukti Party. Lawmaker Lalbir Chaudhary said his party would quit the government if the government did not respond to the issue of arrest of Resham Chaudhary on the basis of a fake letter of the Supreme Court. Singh alleged that Chaudhary was arrested out of the government’s conspiracy.
Mahantha Thakur charged that the people of Tarai Madhes were being discriminated against by the state. Similarly, people of Madhes are being mistreated in public, he added. Thakur said the arrest of Resham Chaudhary was another form of discrimination.
Sita Kumari Rana demanded installation of a technology with early warning sensors in Dailekh district, which has an average of four deaths every year due to lightning in Nepal.
Meanwhile, lawmakers drew the government’s attention to contemporary issues during Zero Hour.
Bina Lama demanded the formation of a judicial inquiry committee to make public the truth about the March 28 Tinkune incident and immediate release of all those detained in that connection, including Rabindra Mishra.
Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said that the Palkiyamai Temple of Simraungadh is an identity and living symbol of history and everyone should pay attention to its conservation.
Shanti Shrestha drew the attention of the concerned bodies to complete the remaining road construction works before the rainy season as the condition of the road would be muddy in the rainy season and dusty at other times.
Saraswati Bajimaya also stressed the need of completing the road construction works on time as the people of hilly and mountainous areas have to face risks while travelling with the onset of monsoon season. Shiva Nepali demanded zero tolerance toward irregularities in the National Pride Projects and strict implementation of this policy. He also demanded a judicial probe into the arrest of Resham Chaudhary, patron of the Nagarik Unmukti Party.
Shishir Khanal drew the attention of the Ministry of Home Affairs to create a safe and dignified environment in Gongabu bus park area in view of the increasing complaints of indecent activities on the open road in the evening, noise pollution throughout the night and of passengers being robbed by offering various inducements.
Shobha Gyawali said that the contract should be approved only after evaluating the capacity and intention of the contractors before awarding them the contract as various projects are found not completed on time and their budget being frozen. Santosh Chalise suggested that the funds for the agriculture sector should be increased in the upcoming budget to create employment in the country and to make arrangements to connect farmers with the market.
Saraswati Subba demanded to bring a bill related to land, forest and park in the parliament immediately to provide rights including housing and agricultural land to the landless Dalits. Saraj Ahmed Farooqui said the concerned ministry should pay its attention to the risk of submergence of villages during the rainy season due to erosion in Kapilvastu constituency-3.
Shanti Chaudhary drew the attention of the government to the issue of timely distribution of fertilizers to the farmers while Sarita Bhusal demanded that the necessary budget be allocated for wetland conservation. Sita Mijar said the delay in the construction of the federal parliament building has raised doubts about the timely completion of other projects as well.