The main opposition Nepali Congress party has announced that it will obstruct proceedings in the House of Representatives on Thursday, continuing its protests against the government's handling of the cooperative fraud case involving Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ravi Lamichhane.
In a meeting of top Congress leaders on Thursday, the party accused the government of being unwilling to thoroughly investigate the allegations against Lamichhane related to the cooperative financial scandal. Party spokesperson Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat stated that the demand is for a comprehensive probe into all issues surrounding cooperatives, including those implicating the Deputy PM.
"The ruling party is not ready for that. When talking about the investigation, there was talk of diluting the main issue by looking at what the problems of the cooperative were, and there was no agreement," Mahat said after the meeting.
The Nepali Congress has rejected the government's proposed approach to investigate the cooperative sector at large, arguing that it overshadows the main issue of Lamichhane's alleged involvement. "We will not accept the investigation by overshadowing the main issue," Mahat asserted.
Ahead of the House of Representatives meeting scheduled for 4 pm on Thursday, the opposition party's top brass, including Deputy Chairman Dhanraj Gurung, General Secretary Gagan Thapa, National Assembly Parliamentary Party leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula, and others, convened to strategize their stance in Parliament.
The Nepali Congress has been disrupting parliamentary proceedings for several days, demanding Lamichhane's resignation and an investigation into the cooperative fraud case against him. The political impasse shows no signs of resolution as the opposition maintains its hardline position.
