The meetings of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly have been deferred following obstruction from opposition parties.

Soon after the National Assembly meeting commenced on Wednesday, CPN-UML lawmakers obstructed the meeting, demanding that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal resign for his recent remarks.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday made a controversial remark during the launch of the book ‘Roads to the Valley: The Legacy of Sardar Pritam Singh in Nepal’. Written by Kirandeep Sandhu, the book is an autobiographical piece about Pritam Singh.

Speaking at the event, Dahal appreciated Singh for making several efforts to make him the prime minister.

“He [Singh] visited Delhi many times. He carried out multiple meetings with politicians and friends for the same purpose.”

UML lawmaker Devendra Dahal, airing his views at the meeting of the upper house, voiced his concern about how the prime minister’s remarks would undermine the nation’s sovereignty.

“Who elects our prime minister? In whose direction do we appoint them? Does Delhi decide who gets to assume the said office?” the UML lawmaker said. “If that is so, we will not accept him [Pushpa Kamal Dahal] as our prime minister. We demand that he resign.”

Similarly, the meeting of the House of Representatives had also been deferred for half an hour after UML lawmakers disrupted the house meeting citing the same issue.

Claiming the prime minister’s remarks to be concerning, the lower house members had also demanded that the prime minister resign.

“Based on what the prime minister has said, he must resign on moral grounds. We do not need a prime minister appointed by Delhi,” said Raghuji Panta, a UML member of the parliament. “This house meeting can’t proceed until the resignation is tendered. We need a dignified prime minister.”

Panta further added that the nation needed a dignified prime minister and not someone who works at the behest of foreign powers.

Following the obstruction of the opposition parties, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and National Assembly chair deferred the meeting. The lower House meeting will now sit at 3pm on Friday while the national assembly will take place tomorrow.

Also, other opposition parties including Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party also joined hands with the CPN-UML to protest the prime minister’s remarks.