Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane has said that the House should not be swayed by headlines and apologized for what he called undignified debates by RSP lawmakers in the House.
Speaking in the House of Representatives (HoR) on Thursday, Lamichhane has conceded that discussion in the House about the budget in the past few days, including that by his party, has not sent a right message to the people. “I want to take responsibility for my share of blames. I also want to apologize for some undignified debates from my party in the past few days,” he has stated.
He has stressed that lawmakers should discuss only important issues. “We seem to obstruct the House and make noise on the basis of issues published in the media at times,” he has stated without pointing at any specific issue but clearly hinting at the obstruction over involvement of retired non-gazetted first class staffer Ram Krishna Shrestha in budget preparation. “It would be important to investigate that. I have, therefore, ruthlessly said that to me as well.”
He has claimed that lawmakers seem reluctant to speak about issues fearing that many businessmen influence media through investment or advertisement and ask them to publish negative reports about the outspoken lawmakers.
“How glad the businessperson trying to influence news would be when the news creates ruckus in the House. This House is not a place to get swayed by any headlines. Reality of that should be checked.”
He also asked his party’s lawmakers to speak about important issues warning that the House would not achieve anything if the new parties formed with a desire to do something new were to adopt the style of old parties.
“Let us go to the Kanti Children’s Hospital nearby, keep screen record of how we want to make that hospital in five years. Let us check the differences our policies made in the five years and hand that over to the House coming after five years. If we can’t do that and only debate about buffaloes, the Nepali people would be disappointed.,” he has elaborated. “If we spend five years debating only about buffaloes we will not achieve anything apart from dung.”
He has also raised the issue of gender discrimination in the recently authenticated Citizenship Bill pointing that the provision requiring self-declaration of lack of identification of father while acquiring citizenship to the children of a single mother violates self-respect of our mothers and sisters.
