A meeting of top leaders of the major parties held at the office of Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire on Monday afternoon ended inconclusively as the ruling and opposition parties could not reach an agreement on formation of a high-level committee for investigation of the recent gold smuggling case.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli met at the Singha Durbar on Speaker Ghimire’s initiative to discuss the issue. Deputy leaders, chief whips and whips of the parties also attended the discussion.
But the government did not appear ready to investigate the gold smuggling case by forming a high-level committee, according to UML Whip Mahesh Bartaula.
“The government is firm in its own stance, we have been demanding a high-level committee,” Bartaula said. “The first phase of discussion concluded. We will sit again at 3:30 PM today. Until now the government is not ready to form a high-level committee.”
He said that the next meeting would take place in the Federal Parliament building at New Baneshwar. UML said that an agreement is possible as the government appeared slightly flexible in Monday’s meeting.
The House of Representatives meeting has been deferred for 4 PM as the speaker and top leaders are set to meet again at 3:30 PM.
UML had demanded formation of a high-level committee for investigation of the gold smuggling case during the House meeting on July 26. The next two House meetings were also postponed as UML continued its obstruction.
According to Speaker Ghimire’s press advisor Shekhar Adhikari, Ghimire had held multiple phone conversations with Prime Minister Dahal and Oli aimed at ending the Parliament obstruction on July 31 and August 1.
“The speaker had held discussions with the chief whips and whips of the major parties on more than six occasions in different phases in the intervening period,” Adhikari said.
