Kathmandu, November 2
The Nepali Congress, the main opposition party, is preparing to demand that the federal parliament be convened as soon as possible.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Krishna Bahadur Rokaya said the party had decided to consult other opposition parties before moving ahead with the demand.
“The recent political developments have made it clear that a parliamentary session is urgently needed. Issues have emerged ranging from the arrests of journalists to the situation within the judiciary and the police,” he said.
The demand comes after controversial reports about meetings between Supreme Court justices and an alleged middleman, as well as disputes surrounding Nepal Police leadership under Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki, were followed by police action against journalists.
Police entered newsrooms and detained journalists over reports concerning alleged links between former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and middleman Inam Sapkota, as well as reports about possible changes in police leadership.
On Friday, plainclothes police officers entered media offices and arrested Bishwamani Subedi of Nepal Press, Dhiraj Basnet of DNA Khabar and Shobharaj Baral of Motivate News. Police also searched for other journalists, including Naya Patrika’s Navaraj Mainali, and checked mobile phones.
The police action was reportedly aimed at identifying the sources of reports about the alleged links between the former chief justice and the middleman, and claims that the government was preparing to remove IGP Karki.
The detained journalists were released later that evening following widespread protests and concern from the Prime Minister’s Office. Police, however, said the journalists had been questioned after the Prime Minister’s Office raised the matter.
The Nepali Congress had condemned the raids on newsrooms without arrest warrants on the same day. Journalists, led by the Federation of Nepali Journalists, also staged a protest at Maitighar Mandala on Saturday. The Press Council Nepal separately expressed serious objection to the arrests, saying they had been carried out without due legal process.
Against this backdrop, the Congress believes the issues should be discussed in Parliament. Rokaya said the party would consult opposition parties and seek to build pressure on the government for an early session.
A meeting of opposition parties is scheduled for 1 pm on Monday, he said.
The previous session of the federal parliament was prorogued on October 2, 2026 (16 Asoj 2083).
