The CPN-UML has demanded the leadership of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, arguing that the opposition party should lead the parliamentary panel to scrutinise the financial dealings of government agencies.

When the chairpersons of the parliamentary committees were elected in September 2018, Nepali Congress as the main opposition led the accounts committee. Out of 16 parliamentary committees, 10 are under the House of Representatives, four under the National Assembly and two committees are jointly represented by the two houses of Parliament.

When the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP) had majority across the committees, the main opposition at the time, NepaliCongress, was leading the accounts committee in the lower house and Sustainable Development and Good Governance Committee in the upper house.

“It is a norm in the parliamentary practice that the opposition party leads the accounts committee. This is why the Congress got leadership of the committee,”UML leader Sher Bahadur Tamang told the Post. “The ruling party should leave the committee's leadership to the UML.”

Vacating the leadership of the accounts committee would mean the ruling Nepali Congress will be commanding just one committee, Sustainable Development and Good Governance Committee, in the National Assembly.

Some Congress leaders say it is not possible to hand over the leadership of the accounts committee to the UML under current circumstances.

“I don’t see any possibility of handing over the leadership of the committee to the main opposition anytime soon,” Congress whip Pushpa Bhusal told the Post. “We will hold discussion if the UML formally presents its demand.”

Earlier last week, UML lawmaker Gokul Banskota, in a meeting of the accounts committee, had demanded resignation of Congress’ Bharat Shah, the incumbent chair of the committee.

He had said the Congress should respect the practice of allowing the opposition to lead the committee.

Meanwhile, Shah said that his party hasn’t paid much attention to the opposition’s demand.

“So far, our party has no plan of leaving the post for the opposition,” he told the Post.

With the general elections due in November next year, the committee has a remaining term of slightly over one year.

Experts on parliamentary affairs also agree that as a ruling party, the Nepali Congress should leave the leadership of the accounts committee to the opposition.

“There has always been a practice where the opposition party leads the accounts committee,” Taranath Ranabhat, a former Speaker, told the Post. “The Congress should hand over the leadership to the UML.”

He also said that the UML, too, should be generous enough and give up the leadership of one of seven committees it leads in exchange for the accounts committee, as the Congress heads only two committees at present.

The UML, however, is in no mood to do so.

“Our demand is based on the practice the country has been following for a long time. It is not the issue of bartering,” said Tamang.