Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah has gradually begun changing his working style.
Having kept his distance from everyone – from lawmakers to the general public – during the government’s first 100 days, PM Shah has recently intensified meetings with various people.
He has met agricultural entrepreneurs, footwear manufacturers, handicraft entrepreneurs, readymade garment producers, stock market investors, industrialists and other business people.
He has also held discussions with Chairman Rajendra Lingden and lawmakers from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which is represented in Parliament.
Following increasing criticism even from within the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) over issues such as failure in managing squatters, parking of vehicles in front of media houses, and calling constitutional body officials to his office and forcing them to arrest employees, PM Shah has slowly started changing his approach.
The prime minister previously refused to meet Sergio Gor, the US ambassador to India who oversees South Asia, even when he sent a letter requesting a meeting during his visit to Nepal. He also did not give Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri an appointment, leading to the cancellation of Misri’s visit.
Misri had been scheduled to visit Kathmandu to deliver an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for PM Shah to visit India. However, after PM Shah refused to meet him, Misri canceled the visit. PM Shah had adopted a policy of not holding one-on-one meetings with officials below the rank of a prime minister or foreign minister from another country.
The Indian foreign secretary’s visit to Nepal, which had been scheduled for May 11, was canceled at the last minute.
More recently, however, PM Shah held a bilateral meeting with Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda. He is also preparing to meet separately with the Indian and Chinese ambassadors to Nepal within the next few days.
Following a recent four-hour conversation with RSP President Rabi Lamichhane, PM Shah is now preparing to meet lawmakers and RSP leaders as well. He is also preparing to increase meetings and consultations with journalists and other figures from public life.
According to Prime Minister Shah’s political advisor Asim Shah, the prime minister and ministers will now meet lawmakers and other people, listen to their concerns, and work to resolve their problems.
With the House of Representatives adjourned for nearly 15 days, many lawmakers have traveled to their constituencies.
“Once the lawmakers return, the ministers and prime minister will meet them and discuss the people’s concerns they have brought,” Shah said. “Work will be done to resolve those problems.”
According to political advisor Shah, the prime minister’s secretariat is also following up on some of the problems reported in the media. In such cases, it draws the attention of state agencies to resolve the issues immediately.
Advisor Shah has held discussions with officials assigned by ministries to listen to issues raised by lawmakers in the House.
They have also been instructed to inform the relevant ministries, ministers, secretaries, and the Prime Minister’s Office about issues raised by lawmakers in Parliament.
“It appears that 36 officials have been assigned solely to listen to issues raised in the House, including those directed to the Prime Minister’s Office,” Shah told Setopati. “We have asked them to note those issues, initiate efforts to resolve them, and inform the lawmakers themselves about the progress being made.”
According to the House of Representatives Regulations, ministers are required to respond in Parliament every seven days to issues raised by lawmakers. However, ministers have rarely responded to issues raised by lawmakers during zero hour, special hour, and emergency sessions.
“From now on, ministers will also respond in Parliament to issues raised by lawmakers,” advisor Shah said. “In addition, ministry staff will call the lawmakers who raised the issues and inform them about what is being done.”
Advisor Shah says it is not that the prime minister’s working style has changed, but rather that he did not have time to hold discussions with many people earlier as he was focused on completing the government’s 100-day agenda.
Shah said that the Prime Minister’s Office has begun working through a dedicated lawmaker coordination section to resolve issues raised by lawmakers.
“We are also holding consultations on establishing a separate section to resolve problems faced by the private sector,” he said.
So far, PM Shah has not held discussions with leaders of the main opposition party in Parliament. He has had very little interaction with even his own ministers. Even ministers had to return after holding discussions with only the prime minister’s secretariat.
However, advisor Shah rejects the claim that the prime minister has not been meeting his ministers.
“There are rumors that the distance between the finance minister and the prime minister has increased. But meetings have been taking place between the prime minister and the finance minister. We have seen the two of them hold discussions lasting 15 minutes to half an hour immediately after every Cabinet meeting,” Shah told Setopati. “The prime minister will now also increase political meetings.”
PM Shah has already told RSP President Lamichhane that he will now focus on Parliament.
However, he has not shown much interest in the party’s operations.
During his meeting with Lamichhane, PM Shah asked for an “update on the party” and told him that the results of the government’s work would gradually become visible.
“The prime minister apparently told the president that he will now focus on Parliament,” said an RSP leader who met Lamichhane. “The prime minister also appears to have felt that the distance between lawmakers and the government has grown.”
