Nepal PM’s continued absence from Parliament draws strong protests from opposition

Lawmakers from multiple opposition parties on Thursday raised slogans to protest the continued absence of Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah ‘Balen’ in Parliament to respond to their questions, leading to an adjournment as proceedings were disrupted.

This is the third time since the session started last week that the opposition parties have obstructed the proceedings in the House of Representatives and boycotted the Parliament meetings to oppose Shah’s absence.

“Down with the autocratic ruler,” “Prime Minister is responsible to (answer) Parliament,” “Address the demands of the Opposition,” “Make the Prime Minister accountable to Parliament,” and “Implement Parliament’s regulation” were the various slogans shouted in the House by members of almost all the opposition parties, including Nepali Congress, CPN-UML -- the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), Shram Sanskriti Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party.

“Is the prime minister an emperor of a separate state?” asked Arjun Narasingha KC, a senior leader and Parliament member from the Nepali Congress, during the Special Hour in the House.