The meeting of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly has become uncertain after both ruling parties—the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML)—staked claim to the vacant post of Speaker.
The Speaker’s position has remained vacant since Bhuvan Kumar Pathak, who had announced his resignation through social media during the Gen-Z protest movement, submitted his written resignation on Ashoj 1. Following this, the Assembly has failed to convene for the past four months due to disagreement between the two ruling parties over the Speaker’s post.
Bagmati Provincial Assembly Secretary Ram Kumar Paudel said there is still no information about when the meeting will be held. “We have completed all preparations for the meeting, but so far no notice has come from the government,” he said, adding that the Secretariat will move into action as soon as the meeting notice is issued. He said preparations to convene the Assembly had already been made in the second week of Kartik, including renovation and painting of the Chief Minister’s Assembly Hall in front of the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, but the meeting could not be called.
According to Paudel, since no information has been received from the government regarding the Assembly session, the meeting remains uncertain. On the recommendation of the government, Province Chief Deepak Prasad Devkota had ended the Assembly session from the night of Mangsir 3. However, Paudel believes the government may be reluctant to call a new meeting due to the lack of consensus between the ruling parties over the vacant Speaker’s position.
There is a legal provision that requires the Speaker to be elected within 15 days of the Assembly session being convened. Therefore, Paudel said the government appears to be adopting a strategy of not calling the Assembly meeting until an agreement is reached between the ruling parties.
Both the Nepali Congress and UML have been claiming the Speaker’s post. UML parliamentary party chief whip Eklal Shrestha said that since the Chief Minister comes from the Nepali Congress, it is natural for UML to claim the Speaker’s position. He said that as the government is formed between the two parties, UML should get the Speaker’s post, adding that there is no real dispute and that speculation is unnecessary.
On the other hand, Nepali Congress Bagmati Province parliamentary party chief whip Pukar Maharjan said consensus has not been reached because both ruling parties are maintaining their respective claims. He said that since the Chief Minister is expected to be handed over to UML after a few months, the Speaker’s post should remain with the Nepali Congress. Maharjan added that discussions are ongoing between the ruling parties and efforts are being made to reach an agreement soon and convene the Provincial Assembly meeting.
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