The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has finalized its candidates for various parliamentary committee chairmanships following a parliamentary party meeting held at Singha Durbar on Thursday. In a significant move to organize its legislative presence, the party appointed Kabindra Burlakoti as the Chief Whip, with Prakash Chandra Pariyar and Kranti Shikha Dhital designated as Whips.
Additionally, Ganesh Parajuli has been appointed as the Deputy Leader of the parliamentary party. The meeting, endorsed by Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane and Parliamentary Party Leader Balen Shah, also established monthly levies for its officials: Rs 16,500 for lawmakers, Rs 18,000 for ministers, and Rs 2,000 for ministers’ personal secretaries.
Under this new lineup, Samiksha Baskota has been nominated for the Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee, while Ashok Chaudhary will oversee Agriculture, Cooperatives, and Natural Resources. The party has selected Aashish Gajurel for Infrastructure Development, Aakriti Awasthi for Women and Social Affairs, and Hari Dhakal for State Affairs and Good Governance. Dr Ojaswi Sherchan is nominated for the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee, while Krishnahari Budhathoki has been assigned to the Finance Committee.
The party has named Sumnima Udas for International Affairs and Tourism and Rahabar Ansari for the Industry, Commerce, Labour, and Consumer Interest Committee. For the joint committees, Bodhnarayan Shrestha has been nominated for Parliamentary Hearing, and Ganesh Karki will lead the committee for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of State Directive Principles, Policies, and Obligations. Notably, the party maintains its stance of supporting the main opposition party for the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee.
Regarding the Public Accounts Committee, the RSP has decided to support the main opposition party, aligning with a broader political consensus. Bharat Bahadur Khadka of the Nepali Congress has officially filed his candidacy for the PAC chairmanship, proposed by Mohan Acharya and seconded by Janak Raj Giri. With the RSP, CPN-UML, and Nepali Communist Party all signaling their support for the opposition in this specific role, Khadka’s election as chairperson is virtually certain.
