Opposition Agrees to Let Home Minister Lamichhane Address Parliament Amid Cooperative Fund Probe Allegations

In a recent meeting, opposition parties agreed to allow Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane to speak at the House of Representatives session on Sunday. This decision followed the ruling parties' willingness to establish a parliamentary probe committee to investigate Lamichhane's alleged involvement in the misappropriation of cooperative funds. As a result, the opposition, which had been adamant about this demand, decided not to obstruct Lamichhane's address.

The consensus among opposition parties was reached during their meeting on Sunday, where they united on the cooperative fraud case issue. Allowing Minister Lamichhane to speak aligns with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's preparations to seek a vote of confidence on Monday, demonstrating flexibility in forming the probe committee to ensure the smooth functioning of parliament.

Despite expressing dissatisfaction with Minister Lamichhane's responses, opposition parties—including the Nepali Congress (NC), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal (JSP-N), Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP), and Janamorcha—agreed to continue their parliamentary obstruction.

Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing within a task force to finalize the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the parliamentary committee. The task force, coordinated by UML leader and Law Minister Padam Giri, includes members such as NC’s Jiban Pariyar, UML's Mahesh Bertaula, and RSP’s Shishir Khanal.