Nepal: Chaos in parliament between opposition and ruling alliance lawmakers

May 18, 2024

A scuffle erupted between opposition and ruling alliance lawmakers in the lower house of Nepal parliament over the formation of an investigation committee against Nepal's Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in case of cooperative fraud. On Thursday evening, the situation turned tense after House Speaker Devraj Ghimire invited Nepal's Deputy PM and Home Minister Lamichhane to the rostrum and address the meeting amidst the protest by the Nepali Congress. Nepali Congress lawmakers who had been disrupting the house procession for weeks were chanting slogans demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate cooperative fraud and justice for the victims. The Congress has been demanding to form the committee to bring Home Minister Lamichhane into the jurisdiction of investigation over his alleged involvement in the fraud that amounts to millions of Nepali rupees. Following the announcement by the House Speaker to invite Home Minister Lamichhane to the rostrum to deliver the address, the opposition CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist) lawmakers in the front row engaged in arguments. In the live feed from the parliament, former Prime Minister and chairman of CPN- UML, KP Sharma Oli also was seen attempting to clear the way forward for the Home Minister, who was blocked by the protesting opposition lawmakers.