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Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said that consensus, cooperation and dialogue will be necessary to protect the country from instability and to strengthen the federal democratic republic.

In a press conference organized by the Nepal Press Union Kanchanpur chapter in Mahendranagar today, he noted that there is dissatisfaction within the CPN-UML in the current government and expressed his own doubts about the present ruling power equation.

"There is a strong opinion within the Nepali Congress and UML that big parties should form the government together," he said, adding that people are also of the opinion that big parties should take the country in the right direction. However, there is no concrete progress about power sharing between Congress and UML, he said.

Even if it is not for running the government, cooperation and discussion between major parties is necessary for leading the country towards stability, to protect the constitution and to strengthen democracy, he said.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'himself has expressed a positive opinion about investigation into cooperative sectors and said that the Congress is also positive about it.

NC leader Lekhak said that the Congress will always stand firm in its stance of forming a parliamentary probe committee to investigate fraud charges against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

"We have not demanded resignation, but investigation,” he said, adding “He is confident that the matter will be addressed before the Parliament meeting scheduled for May 10.”

Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Rastriya Swatantra Party President and Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane held an intensive discussion on Saturday.

During the meeting that lasted around three hours, the three leaders discussed contemporary political issues and budget sessions, a Baluwatar source said.

President Ram Chandra Paudel on the recommendation of the government has called the meeting of both the houses of federal Parliament on Friday afternoon.

Earlier, the government had prorogued the winter session to prepare the budget.

Actually, the government had prorogued the Parliament session after the main opposition Nepali Congress obstructed the House proceedings demanding formation of a parliamentary probe committee to investigate fraud charges against Home Minister Lamichhane.

The Congress has said that it would not give up its stance of forming a parliamentary probe committee to investigate cooperative fraud charges against Minister Lamichhane.

The three leaders also discussed this issue in the meeting held last night.

As the cooperative fraud case is becoming complex day by day, the situation may also come to form the parliamentary probe committee as demanded by the Nepali Congress, Prime Minister Dahal said.

They have also reached a conclusion that the government should take an initiative to resolve the cooperative issues.

The government is preparing to bring a special plan to iron out the cooperative problems that have been becoming a serious problem across the country.

The leaders of the three political parties have agreed to inform the Parliament by forming a committee to investigate the irregularities in the cooperatives.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Lamichhane has also agreed to form a parliamentary probe committee to investigate the cooperative scam, the Baluwatar source said.

Earlier, Home Minister Lamichhane had held a separate meeting with UML Chairman Oli.

Later, Oli and Prime Minister Dahal had discussed the cooperative issues in Baluwatar.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said discussions were underway at the political level to end the deadlock of the House of Representatives and it would be resolved soon.

Talking briefly to mediapersons at Biratnagar today, Prime Minister Dahal shared that the recent impasse would be resolved through political discussion.

He expressed the belief that problems could be resolved by studying the overall issue related to cooperatives and the topic concerning Rastriya Swatantra Party President and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane separately.

"Formation of a parliamentary probe committee has been demanded keeping Deputy Prime Minister Lamichhane at center, which cannot be addressed," the PM said.

Stating that the opposition parties have been making the problems seen in the cooperative sector as a political issue rather than solving it after the change in the political alliance, PM Dahal underlined, "Earlier, the Nepali Congress was with us in the government. The issue of cooperatives was minor for them at that time. After exiting from the government, formation of a parliamentary probe committee has been demanded keeping Rabi Lamichhane in the center. It is based on political prejudice."

He clarified that the efforts made to break the existing political equation would not be successful.

A meeting of the House of Representatives has been postponed by pasting a notice after the main opposition Nepali Congress refused to end obstruction in the House proceedings.

Earlier, the meeting was postponed for 15 minutes following the obstruction of the Nepali Congress.

The Congress has been demanding formation of a parliamentary probe committee to investigate cooperative fraud charges against Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane.

The party has been taking a stand that it would not allow Home Minister Lamichhane to take to the rostrum until the demands are met.

According to the agenda of the House of Representatives meeting, Home Minister Lamichhane was presenting the amended bill to political parties today.

The meeting was postponed after the Nepali Congress lawmakers did not allow the home minister to go to the rostrum.

After the postponement of the meeting, Speaker Devraj Ghimire held a meeting with the Chief Whips of the major political parties.

The meeting has been postponed till 11 am tomorrow.

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.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire held a meeting with senior leaders of the four major political parties representing the Parliament on Monday.

The meeting, however, ended inconclusively after the main opposition Nepali Congress said that it would not backtrack from its stance of forming a parliamentary probe committee to investigate fraud charges against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

The Congress has also been preparing to bar the home minister from taking the rostrum.

Home Minister Lamichhane is scheduled to present an amended bill on political parties on Tuesday.

That is why, Speaker Ghimire held a meeting with the four parties representing in the Parliament so that there would be no disruption in the meeting.

Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak clarified that they demanded the formation of a parliamentary probe committee as the savings of millions of Nepali nationals have been embezzled and there is an involvement of sitting ministers.

“We have allowed the House to function. We have not presented ourselves in an irresponsible way. But still the government has not become serious. Now, the government itself will be responsible if the proceedings of the federal Parliament are obstructed,” he said.

Meanwhile, CPN-UML Chief Whip Ramesh Bartaula said that the parliamentary probe committee will not be formed.

He said that it will set a wrong precedent  if the parliamentary committee is formed even in a minor issue.

Similarly, CPN (Maoist Center) Chief Whip Hitraj Pandey said that as Home Minister Lamichhane is scheduled to present a bill in the Parliament tomorrow, he will answer the questions raised against him at that time.

Likewise, Rastriya Swatantra Party said that the Congress has leveled baseless allegations against party President Lamichhane.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane were present in the meeting. Bishnu Paudel attended the meeting from the CPN-UML.

Similarly, chief whips and whips of four major political parties were also present in the meeting.

The main opposition Nepali Congress has decided not to allow Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who is suspected to be involved in the cooperatives scam, to address from rostrum.

An office bearers’ meeting of the party held in Budhanilkantha has decided to bar Home Minister Lamichhane from taking the rostrum as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has answered on behalf of the government.

Congress Parliamentary Party Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said that the meeting has concluded that there is no alternative to forming a parliamentary committee to investigate cooperative fraud charges against Home Minister Lamichhane.

He said that they demanded the formation of a probe committee as the Prime Minister’s answers on cooperative scam were not satisfactory.

The Congress , the largest party in the lower house, has called a meeting of the parliamentary working committee and Parliamentary Party on Tuesday morning to decide on a new strategy after understanding the views of the ruling parties in the meeting called by the Speaker this afternoon.

According to the Speaker’s press advisor Shekhar Adhikari, the Speaker has called Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Congress President and main opposition party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Home Minister and Rastriya Swatantra Party President Lamichhane in Singha Durbar at 2 pm today hold a discussion on contemporary political issues.

The Congress has continuously been raising questions against Lamichhane after the formation of a new equation and being appointed as the Home Minister.

The government has hinted that it would not form a parliamentary committee to probe fraud charges against Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

At a time when the main opposition Nepali Congress is giving an ultimatum to form the parliamentary probe committee, the government has said that it does not see that situation.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology and government spokesperson Rekha Sharma said that sufficient evidence has not been found against the home minister to prove him guilty in the cooperative scam.

“Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the home minister themselves have expressed their views on the demand raised by the Nepali Congress, " she said.

The Congress has been obstructing the Parliament proceedings demanding formation of the parliamentary committee to probe charges against Home Minister Lamichhane for the past one month.

The party has been saying that it would not allow the House to proceed with its business until such a panel is formed.

The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) has continued to advocate for forming a parliamentary committee to probe into issues about cooperative mismanagement. 

Taking time in a meeting of the House of Representatives today, party General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma reiterated the party's voice for forming the parliamentary panel to investigate the alleged connection of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cooperative fraud.

He utilized the forum to argue that the House is neither a venue for convicting anyone of any offense nor giving a clean chit on the charge. "Instead, the matter should be addressed through a due process."

Lawmaker Sharma also expressed concern over what he said the ruling party declaring the minister innocent from the House.

"The practice of declaring anyone guilty or innocent from a rostrum or a parliamentary floor is not good. If the Home Minister is not guilty, the right to be declared innocent by a parliamentary committee should be guaranteed." 

He presented three reasons clarifying the need to form a parliamentary body to address the matter. "It is due to the realization of a conflict of interest, suspension of an official investigation into the cooperatives, and the issue requiring to be addressed by the parliamentary procedures."

The NC lawmaker wanted the government to bring a proposal to form the committee in the next lower house session.

He warned that the party would take up the issue more seriously in the days ahead and it is committed to its stance (of forming a parliamentary probe committee).

The ultimatum to the government for proceeding ahead with the constitution of the committee has been over, he said, hinting about the party's preparations for further amplifying the programs of protests over the matter.

He said that there is a misunderstanding at the civic level that the parliamentary proceedings have been halted due to the NC obstruction.  On March 31, the Parliament held discussions on the agreement related to the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The following day, a proposal to seek considerations on the power trade bill was presented and on April 2, the House endorsed the BIMSETC Charter. He said he wanted to inform all Nepali citizens at home and abroad that the House continues its business.

Lawmaker Sharma said an atmosphere should be built for implementing a House calendar, making the House more systematic and accountable. Any matters that are at variance with the meeting agenda will be rejected by the party.

He also protested the presentations of issues in the rostrum sans an agreement in the Parliamentary Business Advisory and Consultative Committees. 

Speaker Devraj Ghimire said the Constitution incorporates the provisions allowing time for the Prime Minister or a Minister to put views in the Parliament if requested. It is our practice and tradition to grant time to the Prime Minister and Ministers to express views if demanded, he said.

The main opposition party, Nepali Congress, has reiterated its demand of forming a parliamentary committee for conducting a fair investigation into cooperative fraud, saying the name of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is linked to it.

The NC demanded that authority be given to such a committee to carry out investigation on cooperative fraud cases and bring out the truth. 

Speaker Devraj Ghimire allotted time to NC lawmaker Ram Krishna Yadav after all the NC lawmakers stood from their respective seats as a protest in today's meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR).

Speaking in the meeting, lawmaker Yadav pointed out the need of parliamentary probe into the cooperative fraud scam, citing that a crisis of trust has surfaced after the investigation on Lamichhane stopped with reconstitution of the government.

He said Home Minister Lamichhane should resign from the post based on ethics as he had taken a loan of Rs 800 million from a cooperative at a time when he was working at Gorkha Media Pvt Ltd and has still not cleared it.

Lawmaker Yadav also demanded investigation on Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security, DP Aryal as he is also found involved in cooperative cases, clarifying his party would not obstruct the House on other issues except the issues connected with the Home Ministry and Cooperative. 

Urging the government to seriously pay attention on the issues raised by lawmakers in the House, he urged the government to raise hope among the people by ending impunity, and maintaining rule of law and good governance.

In response, Speaker Ghimire said his and the House's attention was drawn on the issues raised by lawmaker Yadav.

The main opposition party Nepali Congress has called for forming a parliamentary committee to investigate the linking of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the cooperatives’ fraud.

Nepali Congress leader Sanjaya Kumar Gautam said, "This is also the issue of ethics. The government should be serious on this (the linking of DPM Lamichhane's name in the cooperative fraud). A parliamentary probe committee should be formed in this connection."

He contended that a doubt has arisen regarding how justice can be done on this topic based on the Prime Minister's replies in Parliament and the Police Chief's response on this topic in the parliamentary committee meeting.

Stating that the main opposition party Nepali Congress is well aware of the fact that the Parliament should not be held hostage over certain demands, he called upon the government also to be serious regarding its responsibilities.

Lawmaker Gautam demanded that the Parliament should also press the government for addressing the livelihood issues of the people. He reiterated that the main opposition party would continue raising this issue until the parliamentary investigation committee was formed.

"The then Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha had responded in the Parliament itself that an investigation was on in this connection. But now the investigation is stopped," he said, adding that appointing Lamichhane as the Home Minister is a conflict of interest.

Lawmakers draw govt's attention to address farmers' problems

Meanwhile, speaking in the Urgent Time in the meeting of the HoR today, lawmakers voiced various contemporary issues, including the increasing number of road accidents and the farmers facing a plethora of problems.

Lawmaker Hitraj Pandey expressed concern over the increasing number of road accidents in recent days and urged the government to take effective measures to reduce road fatalities, referring to the car accident that took place on Saturday near Muglin.

Eknath Dhakal also drew the government's attention on this topic while Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan urged the government to resolve problems faced by the citizens while accessing various public services. He also called on the government to provide relief to the farmers after assessing the damage caused by the windstorm and hailstone.

Lawmaker Ashok Kumar Chaudhary raised the issue of the maize cultivated by farmers in the Tarai districts producing cobs without grains due to the 'flawed' hybrid seeds. He demanded action against the dealers selling such seeds and providing compensation to the farmers.

Chaudhary stressed on the urgent need of taking steps to mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture and the problem of wild animals consuming and damaging the crops.

Dr Amaresh Kumar Singh said a question has arisen regarding the adjudication of justice by the judiciary. He alleged that the judges were appointed on the power-sharing basis among the parties and the judges also gave verdicts in an unfair way.

He called for an investigation on the decisions of the judiciary and formed a parliamentary committee to assess the conduct of the judges. He also through the Parliament called attention of the judiciary to what he called 'the contamination' of the judiciary. Lawmaker Singh complained that only few of the complaints filed with the Judicial Council are investigated into.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane has stressed that security agencies should act sternly to curb drug abuse and social offenses.

During his visit to the District Administration Office in Jhapa on Friday, he urged security bodies based in the district to demonstrate competence in their operations. He also wanted them to disregard any directives of unethical nature and not to consider the accused's political connection.

"Deliver in a way that assures changes to citizens," he urged.

Lamichhane also pledged accountability promotion during his term as the Home Minister.

Jhapa's Chief District Officer, Bandhu Prasad Bastola, briefed the Home Minister on the security situation in the district, highlighting the challenges and the efforts being made to address them.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has denied any involvement in the cooperative fraud.

Speaking at a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the Parliament today, DPM Lamichhane argued that although his name is linked to the cooperative fraud, no evidence could prove that.

"My name is allegedly linked to the cooperative fraud. There is nothing except my name. My signature is not there. I have not also given my thumb impression on any related document. I have also not received any letter. There is no case against me," he said, adding that there was no other evidence to prove his involvement in the scam. I am also not named as the defendant in the case filed in the court as well, he asserted.

Similarly, Inspector General of Police Basanta Kunwar said that although a complaint has been lodged with the police regarding the cheating of cooperatives, Deputy Prime Minister Lamichhane is not implicated in that complaint.

"There is no evidence in the complaint related to the cooperative swindling scam linking the Home Minister's name. Although the complaint has come in his name in a symbolic way, there is no evidence," IGP Kunwar said.

Lawmaker Dilendra Prasad Badu urged the meeting to clarify the matter as the DPM's name was linked to the cooperative swindling scam.

"A name called Rabi Lamichhane has been linked with the cooperative cheating case. This name matches with the name of our honorable Home Minister. Is it you? If yes, it calls for a fair investigation. If the investigation is to be made credible, it is better you keep yourself aloof from the post of Home Minister," Badu reiterated.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane has said that the government is effortful to solve the problems surfaced in the cooperatives across the country.

Talking to journalists today, Minister Lamichhane said that the government has tried to solve the problems through dialogue with the cooperative victims. He said, "There has been an agreement between the government negotiation team and the cooperative victims. Agreement comes into effect soon.”

He said that the savings of the depositors will be returned even if by adjusting from the property of those who embezzled the cooperative's money.

The Home Minister said that the government has mobilized its full power to arrest G.B. Rai, who is absconding after misappropriating the cooperative's money.

Lamichhane expressed his belief that Rai will be arrested soon, saying that investigation and study conducted by the government should not be made public beforehand. He said that the results of the work done by the government will come in full swing.

"The government will do what the law says. The prime minister's directive is that the innocent should not be caught. That's how it works." Minister Lamichhane said that even if there are some complications in the process, we will work to get results.

Speaking in a different context, he said that the government will work for the presence of the state for the Chepang community, the deprived community living in Chitwan district. He said that he is going to work within the budget this year through discussions with experts and concerned representatives to address the issues of the marginalized Chepang community.  

Nepali Congress (NC) is demanding an investigation against Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane for his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of cooperative funds. For the same reason, the main opposition party is pushing to form a probe panel, a move opposed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. Certainly, there are valid questions regarding Lamichhane’s involvement in the misuse of cooperative funds.

 However, the way the NC is acting after the formation of the new coalition is unusual. The party has just come out of a government that failed to deliver on service delivery and economic fronts. Home Minister Lamichhane has taken some positive steps, including implementing the report submitted by the committee formed to investigate gold smuggling. Similarly, he has pledged to minimize political influence in the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force. He should be allowed to work freely without pressure from parties. If he fails to fulfill his pledges, questions should be raised, but for some period, it would not be justifiable to obstruct him.

In a parliamentary system, the opposition party should allow the government to work for at least 100 days without obstructions. Obviously, the opposition party should work to hold the government accountable and raise people's concerns and plights, but that should be done constructively. Past experiences show that opposition parties often resort to obstructing Parliament to press the government to fulfill their demands. However, Parliament cannot engage in its key task of the law-making process if it is obstructed for a long time. As a grand old party and the largest in Parliament, the NC should not resort to obstructing Parliament. Instead, it should find innovative ways to raise its voices within Parliament.

The performance of parliament has been dismal over the past few years due to intra-party disputes. There is a long list of crucial bills in the Parliament Secretariat that have long awaited parliamentary endorsement. Some of them are very important and related to the party's international image and prestige, on which all parties should come together. The new coalition has come up with new commitments and visions, so the NC and other opposition parties should wait some time to see how the new government addresses the problems the country is facing today. The NC should think seriously about its role as an opposition party.

Nepali Congress has demanded formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the cooperative fraud.

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives, lawmaker Ramhari Khatiwada accused the government of being scared of forming a parliamentary committee.

He objected that the government, which could not form a parliamentary committee, had mentioned in its Common Minimum Program of forming various commissions.

“We heard the Common Minimum Program of the government. It has been mentioned that various commissions will be formed. What kind of commission will the government form when it expresses its reluctance to form a parliamentary committee of cooperative fraud,” he questioned.

He claimed that the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government has become unsuccessful in every sector.