Nepal: Scuffle breaks out in parliament between opposition and ruling alliance lawmakers

Kathmandu [Nepal], May 16 : A scuffle erupted between opposition and ruling alliance lawmakers in the lower house of Nepal parliament over the formation of an investigation committee against Nepal's Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in case of cooperative fraud.

On Thursday evening, the situation turned tense after House Speaker Devraj Ghimire invited Nepal's Deputy PM and Home Minister Lamichhane to the rostrum and address the meeting amidst the protest by the Nepali Congress.

Nepali Congress lawmakers who had been disrupting the house procession for weeks were chanting slogans demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate cooperative fraud and justice for the victims.

The Congress has been demanding to form the committee to bring Home Minister Lamichhane into the jurisdiction of investigation over his alleged involvement in the fraud that amounts to millions of Nepali rupees.

Following the announcement by the House Speaker to invite Home Minister Lamichhane to the rostrum to deliver the address, the opposition CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist) lawmakers in the front row engaged in arguments.

In the live feed from the parliament, former Prime Minister and chairman of CPN- UML, KP Sharma Oli also was seen attempting to clear the way forward for the Home Minister, who was blocked by the protesting opposition lawmakers.

Oli and Congress vice president Dhanraj Gurung were also engaged in a heated argument. Other lawmakers from both sides subsequently joined the quarrel. Congress lawmakers were visibly angry after the Speaker read out letters received from the Office of the President amid their protest.

Later, the Speaker asked the Home Minister to take his seat and adjourned the meeting. The next proceedings have been called for 11 am on Friday.

The main opposition has been obstructing the budget session of the parliament since the first day of the session that commenced on May 10. However, the opposition parties had allowed the President to table policies and programmes of the government.

Allegations have been made against Nepal's Home Minister Lamichhane for conducting fraud in a cooperative duping millions of rupees of savers and conspiring with others. Lamichhane has been denying the allegation, stating he was unaware of it. However, evidence of his involvement in the fraud has come forward as the investigation is being conducted.

Lamichhane had earlier worked with GB Rai, one of the conspirators in the fraud of millions of rupees before he entered politics in the last election, who as of now has gone underground with police widening search for him.

An investigative report conducted by Pokhara Metropolis over the alleged fraud in the cooperative has just been completed this week and submitted to the police, where hundreds of applications naming Lamichhane as one of those involved in fraud has

been filed.

Allegations have been made against Lamichhane for misusing his authority to transfer top-positioned police personnel who have been investigating the case. Apart from this, he has been blamed for misuse of authority by coercing and forcing the Office of the Attorney General to give him a clean chit on the issue of cooperative fraud.

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