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A meeting of the top leaders of the major political parties, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chief whips ended inconclusively on Tuesday. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Speaker Devraj Ghimire and chief whips among others were present in the meeting held in Baluwatar this morning. A Baluwatar source said that the next meeting will be held in Singha Durbar at 1 pm on April 14. Though the leaders have agreed to make the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) among other bills ‘widely acceptable’, they have decided hold discussions on matters of the TRC bill and its procedures again, it has been learnt. The leaders have also agreed to decide on the leadership and representation of joint committees and other committees on the basis of consensus. UML Chief Whip Padam Giri, CPN (Maoist Center) Chief Whip Hit Raj Pandey, Nepali Congress lawmaker Ishwori Neupane, Attorney General Dinmani Pokharel, former Attorney General Ramesh Badal also took part in the meeting. After the main opposition rejected the government’s proposal to take the TRC bill ahead through fast track, the government has not taken forward the proposal yet.  

Lawmaker and Nepali Congress general secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has suggested to the government to immediately hold dialogue with the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). Speaking in the meeting of the House of Representatives today, Thapa urged Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to hold discussions with KMC without any delay and prejudice. "Let dialogue be held promptly with the metropolis regarding its decision of not collecting garbage from Singha Durbar and other places. Topics that have to be sorted out now should be done so. The justified demands (of KMC) should be fulfilled," he said and called for also involving the people's representatives from the Kathmandu Valley in this dialogue process. KMC has not picked up the garbage from Singha Durbar and places citing the Federal Government have not lent enough support to it in its plan of making the metropolis well-managed. Lawmaker Thapa said, "Let the Prime Minister take the initiation today itself and hold talks with KMC to address the conflict seen with the KMC. This matter should be finalized and also it should not be abandoned thinking that the matter is addressed for now. Let the Federal Government bring the required legislation in the parliament. We are ready to work to that end." Stating that a conflict has been seen between Bag Durbar (read KMC) and Singha Durbar (the Executive), he said, "We will debate whether the local government's style, language, tone while pressing for getting its demands heard by obstructing the essential services is right or wrong."

In a single day, the Parliament Secretariat spends more than 1m in the various sections. It includes the rent of Parliament buildings, allowances, transport fees and other expenditures.  But, both the House of Representative and National Assembly have made very little or little progress in the law-making.The new parliament elected from Nov 9 elections has not passed even a single bill. On several occasions, lawmakers go to Parliament only to register their attendance. The list of abuse by lawmakers goes on. 

The daily rent for the Parliament building is Rs 416,000, while Rs 550,000 is allocated for allowances and transport fares of lawmakers, and another Rs 100,000 is earmarked for miscellaneous expenses. This translates to a total expenditure of Rs 20m on parliamentary meetings. Lawmakers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's failure to provide adequate business to the parliament.

The parliament has been devoid of any meaningful business as the government and parties were preoccupied with the formation of the government and the elections of the President and Vice-president. In the four months since the election, the parliament has managed to draft House of Representatives Regulations.

Additionally, several bills including the Prevention of Money Laundering and Promotion of Business Environment Bill, Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Act (Amendment) Bill, Food Hygiene and Quality Bill, and Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) Act Amendment Bill have been tabled for discussion in parliament. The government aims to expedite the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Act (Amendment) Bill through a fast track process.

However, the main opposition, CPN-UML, has been insisting that the discussion on the Bill should take place in parliament. The government was also expected to table the Nepal Citizenship Act Amendment Bill which was previously refused authentication by the former President Bidya Devi Bhandari. The government has not yet tabled the bill.

Furthermore, the government has not tabled 28 bills, which become inactive automatically with the end of the previous parliament’s term, in parliament.

The Federal Parliament Secretariat has been providing Rs 18,000 as house rent allowance to members of both houses who do not have a residence in Kathmandu Valley. However, lawmakers, who have their own house in the Valley, have been collecting Rs 9,000 as house maintenance allowance every month. According to the secretariat, out of 124 lawmakers, who have residences in the valley, 123 are collecting house rent allowance from the secretariat every month. Sunil Sharma of the Nepali Congress is the only lawmaker who has refused this allowance. Staffers of the secretariat showed Sharma wrote to the secretariat stating that he doesn’t need a house maintenance allowance.

Several prominent lawmakers, including NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, Rastriya Swatantra Party Vice-president Dol Prasad Aryal, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Vice-president Bikram Pandey, among others, have been availing themselves of the house repair allowance.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party has suspended lawmaker Dhaka Kumar Shrestha after his audio of asking for Rs 20 million bribe with medical entrepreneur Durga Prasain was leaked. An office bearers’ meeting of the party held on Sunday decided to suspend lawmaker Shrestha. RSP Chief Whip Santosh Pariyar said that Shrestha has been suspended for a week. “This is a sensitive issue. He has been suspended for a week. He will be asked to furnish clarification,” he said. In the audiotape, lawmaker Shrestha was heard asking Rs 20 million with Prasain saying that he had to pay the money to the party to become health minister.