Frantic efforts by the ruling parties to create an environment for President Ramchandra Paudel to present the government’s annual policies and programmes in Parliament were unsuccessful on Monday.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal made separate attempts to persuade the main opposition Nepali Congress—which has long been pressing for a parliamentary investigation into the cooperatives scam involving the home minister and obstructing House proceedings—into allowing the President to present the policies and programme before a joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday.

The Congress has been calling for formation of a parliamentary committee to look into the embezzlement of the billions of rupees in cooperative funds across the country. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane is among those accused of misusing funds of credit cooperatives in Pokhara, Butwal and Chitwan when he was managing director of a television station before joining politics in 2022.

“We expect the President to present the policies and programmes of the government in Parliament,” said Kiran Pokhrel, press adviser to the President, “We don’t have more information on the issue.”

Despite holding several rounds of talks on Monday, the ruling and opposition parties could not reach a compromise with the ruling coalition refusing to investigate Lamichhane.

According to Speaker Ghimire’s private secretariat, he spoke to Prime Minister Dahal, leader of the main opposition Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba, and UML chair Oli and urged them to reach an agreement by Tuesday afternoon so that the President can present the policies and programmes in Parliament.

But Deuba outright rejected the Speaker’s request, an official at the Speaker’s secretariat said.

UML chair Oli, however, had assured Ghimire that the ruling parties would come up with a common view on the demand of the main opposition. Later, ruling coalition leaders including Prime Minister Dahal, Oli, and Lamichhane sat down to discuss ways to remove the obstacles in the House.

“We believe that the Nepali Congress will ultimately allow the President to present the policies and programmes,” said a minister from the CPN (Maoist Centre). “The Congress will also allow the prime minister to extend a vote of thanks to the President.”

But the Congress, by Monday night, was holding on to its stand. Party chief Deuba on Monday evening called a meeting of party senior leaders and discussed the latest situation and his formal and informal communications with the ruling party leaders.

“Our position has not changed and will not change,” said a Congress office bearer. “The way Oli is hardening his position [against forming a probe committee], we are not going to compromise and drop this agenda. If we don’t get any positive response by Tuesday morning, we will take an official decision to disrupt House proceedings.”

To take a final call on whether to resume the proceedings of the House or keep disturbing it, including by not allowing the President to read out the policies and programmes, the party has called a meeting of the parliamentary party for Tuesday morning.

In the meeting between Dahal, Oli and Lamichanne, the three reportedly agreed to strongly oppose the demand of the Congress.

The three leaders agreed to wait and see what the Congress decides in the parliamentary party meeting, said a Maoist Centre leader.

Prime Minister Dahal has scheduled a separate meeting with Congress leaders for Tuesday morning ahead of the party’s parliamentary party meeting in his last ditch attempt to persuade the main opposition to allow the President to read out the government’s policies and programmes.

Home Minister Lamichanne, after the meeting with Prime Minister Dahal and Oli, told the media that he should be allowed to present his views on the allegations in Parliament.

“Let me speak in the House as I have been facing several questions there. I have to speak in the House, which is my right, too. Then we can talk about what we can do. There is no need to be afraid of my statement,” said Lamichhane.

Earlier, a meeting of Congress office bearers decided not to allow President Paudel to present the policies and programmes. “Until our demand for a parliamentary panel is not addressed, we will not let the House resume its normal business,” said Ramesh Lekhak, chief whip of the party.

Based on their discussion with Prime Minister Dahal on Sunday, the Congress leaders were expected to make some progress by Monday evening.

“Our position on the parliamentary panel to probe those who defrauded hundreds of cooperatives remains intact. There is no chance of backtracking. What to do with the policies and programmes, it is up to the government,” said Lekhak.

The office bearers’ meeting also urged its sister organizations to come out in the street and demonstrate against those who duped the cooperatives, including home minister Lamichhane.

The party’s two sister organisations, the Nepal Tarun Dal and the Nepal Mahila Sangh, plan to organise protests against cooperative frauds in order to put pressure on the government to work to return the deposit of cooperative members.

The Congress has instructed its leaders to obstruct proceedings in provincial parliaments as well.