Opposition parties have sharply criticised Prime Minister Balendra Shah after he walked out of a joint sitting of the federal parliament while President Ram Chandra Paudel was presenting the government’s policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year.

Leaders from the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, Nepali Communist Party (NCP) and other parties said the prime minister’s conduct undermined parliamentary dignity. The controversy has intensified pressure on the nearly two-thirds majority government formed after the March 5 election of the House of Representatives.

The row erupted after Shah attended Monday’s joint session only briefly before leaving the House around 50 minutes after President Paudel began reading out the government’s annual policy document. Shah later remained in his office inside the parliament building while the President continued the address for another half an hour.

Shah also did not return to the parliament to bid farewell to the President after the address concluded. He further drew criticism for leaving the chamber immediately after submitting the proposal of thanks to Parliament Secretariat officials without making customary remarks.

Speaking in Tuesday’s House meeting, Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Bhishma Raj Angdembe described the prime minister’s behaviour as unfortunate and unprecedented.

“Perhaps Nepal’s prime minister will now enter the Guinness World Records because no other prime minister in the world has walked out while his/her own government’s policies and programmes were being presented in parliament,” said the Congress leader. “Should I congratulate him for such a record or express sorrow? His conduct reflected arrogance and disregard for parliamentary dignity.”

Angdembe further said the incident had hurt public sentiment and diminished the prestige of parliament. He also demanded that the government clarify the prime minister’s conduct and ensure such incidents are not repeated in future.

President Paudel had presented the government’s annual policies and programmes at a joint sitting of both the House of Representatives and National Assembly at 4 pm on Monday, marking the formal beginning of the budget session. Shah was absent from the separate opening meetings of both the houses earlier in the day. Ordinances that were to be tabled on behalf of the prime minister were instead presented by Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam.

Prime Minister Shah was present when the policy document was formally handed to the President. He attended the session wearing a black coat, black T-shirt, pants and white sports shoes, drawing criticism from some lawmakers who argued that the head of government should follow established parliamentary dress codes during ceremonial proceedings.

Former prime minister and coordinator of NCP Pushpa Kamal Dahal said parliament’s dignity depended heavily on the prime minister’s conduct. “We can move forward only by strengthening the dignity, role and prestige of parliament,” Dahal told the house. “If the prime minister does not observe certain standards of conduct, parliamentary dignity itself cannot survive. All of us must pay attention because our collective future is connected to the prime minister’s working style.”

Dahal also urged the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) not to misuse its numerical strength and instead use the public mandate to strengthen democratic procedures.

RSP deputy parliamentary party leader Ganesh Parajuli, however, defended his party, saying it remained committed to maintaining parliamentary values and norms. “We are committed to upholding parliamentary principles, traditions and dignity,” Parajuli told Kantipur. “We have not violated parliamentary decorum in the past and will not do so in future either.”

The UML had also raised objections in Monday’s meeting. UML lawmaker Guru Prasad Baral questioned both Shah’s attire and his decision to leave the parliament midway through the President’s address.

“Should the prime minister not follow the national dress code in Parliament?” Baral asked. “What kind of precedent are we trying to establish in this country? The prime minister himself tabled the policies and programmes, yet he left the chamber while the President was reading them out.”

Baral also accused Shah of engaging in conversations from the front row during the address. He asked Speaker DP Aryal to have video footage of the Prime Minister’s conversations during the presentation of the policies and programmes removed from the parliamentary record. In response, Aryal said, “The concerns raised by the honourable member have drawn my attention. I will instruct the Secretariat to look into the matter.”

The prime minister’s office has not issued an official explanation for Shah’s departure from parliament. However, his political adviser, Asim Shah, wrote on social media on Monday evening that Prime Minister Shah had briefly left because of health discomfort and needed rest. The post was later deleted.

Citing the deleted statement, Angdembe urged the government to conduct a health examination of the prime minister and inform the parliament about his condition.

“The prime minister no longer belongs only to the RSP. He is also our national asset, and we are equally concerned about his health,” said Angdembe.

The controversy has dominated political discussion and social media since Monday evening, with critics accusing Shah of weakening parliamentary culture at a time when public trust in political institutions remains fragile. Supporters of the prime minister, however, argued that the reaction from opposition parties was exaggerated and driven by political rivalry rather than genuine concern for parliamentary norms.

In the past, prime ministers traditionally remained present throughout the President’s address, escorted the head of state upon departure and offered brief remarks while tabling the proposal of thanks in the house. Parliamentary observers say those practices, although not always legally binding, are considered important constitutional conventions in Nepal’s Westminster-style parliamentary system.

The main opposition Nepali Congress raised objections at the very start of Tuesday’s parliamentary meeting regarding Prime Minister Shah’s walkout. Chief whip of the party, Basana Thapa, sought special time in the parliament to formally object to the prime minister’s conduct on behalf of the party.

“What we witnessed yesterday (Monday) was perhaps a scene rarely seen in the history of democratic parliamentary practice. The prime minister leaving the parliament while the President was presenting the government’s policies and programmes was not merely an ordinary incident. We believe it concerns constitutional culture, parliamentary tradition, state accountability and the seriousness of the government,” claimed Thapa. She urged the government to provide an immediate clarification, uphold the dignity of constitutional offices, refrain from weakening parliamentary traditions and ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future.