Kathmandu, July 21
The Parliament meeting scheduled for 11 am on Thursday will take place three hours later. The schedule change came after an informal meeting between top leaders of three major parties and Speaker Onsari Gharti at the latter’s office. At 1 pm, top leaders will hold talks with Speaker Gharti, one hour before the Parliament meeting that is to discuss the no-confidence motion that the CPN-Maoist Centre and the main opposition Nepali Congress have tabled against the KP Oli government.
Speaker Gharti had convened a meeting on Thursday morning with Prime Minister Oli, Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Centre Chair Prachanda. At the meeting, she piled pressure on the leaders to agree on the process before discussions on the motion.
Top leaders sought time from Speaker for discussions on the matter within their parties, Basudev Sharma, Speaker’s press adviser, told Onlinekhabar. After discussions within their parties, leaders will again hold discussions with Speaker at 1 pm and discussions in the House will begin at 2 pm.
The government and opposition parties remain divided on whether to discuss the trust vote or pass Fiscal Bills first.
Congress and Maoist leaders want discussions on the trust motion first, whereas UML leaders say they will obstruct the Parliament itself if discussions on the motion begin before passage of the Bills.
Speaker Gharti has been trying to make peace between the two sides, aware that tension will grip the Parliament if she convenes its scheduled meeting without a three-party understanding. On Thursday, she met leaders of three parties in her bid to make them come to an agreement.
She has said she is ready to convene discussions on the no-trust motion only after discussions on Fiscal Bills, provided political parties agree on the same. If parties fail to reach an understanding, Speaker Gharti has said, she will convene discussions on the trust vote.
Amid all this, some leaders have reportedly advised a middle path.
A source told Onlinekhabar: Some leaders have suggested inclusion of both the Bills and the trust vote in the Parliament’s business schedule.
