Kathmandu, June 27
The main opposition Nepali Congress continued to create obstructions in the Parliament on Monday, stalling a meeting slated for the day. Congress lawmakers have been preventing House meetings from taking place accusing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli of not addressing their demands related to quake victims and post-quake reconstruction seriously.
At Monday’s meeting as well, Prime Minister Oli tried to respond to Congress’ concerns, but NC lawmakers barred him from doing so.
As the meeting started, NC lawmakers stood in protest and Speaker Onsari Gharti gave former Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat time to speak. Mahat said: People’s tears and sufferings pressed us to take this step.
Lakhs of people have been waiting to rebuild their houses by signing grant agreements with government. “These people would have built lakhs of houses on their own if the government had let them do so,” Mahat said.
The Congress has been demanding Rs 2 lakh lumpsum payment to each quake-affected household. On its part, the government has been saying that it has already signed agreements with donors on providing housing grants in four installments.
Mahat said there’s possibility of renegotiation on the issue.
The government should take initiatives to renegotiate the issue of providing grants on installments, he said, calling the government to address Congress concerns through talks.
After Mahat’s comments, NC lawmakers left, though Speaker Gharti asked them to sit, saying PM Oli was willing to respond to their questions. The Parliament meeting has been postponed till 3 pm.
