The widening rift between the ruling and opposition parties over the formation of a parliamentary committee to look into the cooperative scam has further complicated the parliamentary process at a time when the government has the compulsion to announce the fiscal budget on May 28.

Despite multiple meetings and back-channel negotiations on Friday, the ruling and opposition parties failed to narrow down their differences over the formation of the parliamentary panel. Short of an understanding, meetings of both chambers of Parliament were put off until Sunday. While the National Assembly sitting was adjourned due to an obstruction by the main opposition, the House of Representatives meeting was deferred until Sunday through a notice.

A senior Rastriya Swatantra Party leader told the Post that the House session was deferred by a day at the request of Nepali Congress leaders and informal talks between the Congress, the RSP and the prime minister were headed in the positive direction.

“We do not want to derail the process of forming the parliamentary probe and we also do not want to introduce the budget through an ordinance,” the RSP leader who is engaged in multiple talks with leaders from ruling and opposition sides said. “We do not want to be seen as a destabilising factor.”

A Nepali Congress office bearer told the Post that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s decision to seek a vote of confidence on Monday has made them suspicious. The opposition leaders have smelt a rat after the government’s decision to withdraw the bill related to political parties and frequent changes of the conditions by the ruling parties on the parliamentary probe as well as the resumption of the house session to discuss the government’s policies and programmes and the budget presentation have created suspicion.

“Now we are sensing that the government is set to bring the budget through an ordinance if our protest continues,” the Congress official said. The main opposition party is yet to decide whether to obstruct the House on Monday. Prime Minister Dahal has invited senior Nepali Congress leaders for a meeting on Saturday morning.

The largest party convened a meeting of opposition parties on Friday. According to Gyanendra Shahi, chief whip of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, the parties were one on forming a parliamentary committee to probe the cooperative scam. “But we have also raised the issue that opposition parties should allow Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane to speak in the House and let him clarify his position.”

Instead of taking the lead to resolve the deadlock in Parliament, the way the prime minister hurriedly seeks a vote of confidence has made the Nepali Congress suspicious. Prime Minister Dahal has decided to go for a floor test on Monday. He is seeking the vote of confidence of the House after the Upendra Yadav-led Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal on May 13 withdrew its support for the government following a split in the party.

Some of the prime minister's recent activities did not help resolve the deadline inside the house, Nepali Congress general secretary Gagan Thapa said. The way the prime minister decided to hurriedly seek a vote of confidence and withdraw the bill related to the Political Party Act leads us to suspect that he wants to close the budget session of Parliament and present the budget through an ordinance.

The prime minister's meeting with Congress leaders on Friday evening to discuss the latest political situation was deferred till Saturday morning.

According to Thapa, the prime minister’s and the CPN-UML’s game plan will result in a loss for the Rastriya Swatantra Party.

“Whatever the UML chair says for public consumption, his inner interest is different. The prime minister has his own interests. Finally, the Rastriya Swatantra Party will bear the brunt of these one after another conspiracy. I do not know how seriously the RSP is taking these developments, but if the UML and the Maoist Centre will try to go on a new course, the RSP stands to be impacted a lot,” said Thapa.

Thapa said that his party’s position at the moment is to obstruct the House on Monday during the session in which the prime minister goes for a floor test.

Suspicions are growing between the ruling and opposition parties over the issue of budget. If the Congress continues to obstruct the House, the ruling parties will go for the budget ordinance. It is up to the Nepali Congress, said Yogesh Bhattarai of the UML.

If the Congress continues to obstruct the House, there is no option but to issue the budget through an ordinance.

He added that they are hopeful of having positive talks and discussions with the Nepali Congress by Saturday.

But the Nepali Congress is adamant on a probe against the home minister for his alleged involvement in Pokhara, Butwal, and Chitwan-based cooperatives. The parliamentary committee is needed to investigate the home minister, Congress spokesman Prakash Sharan Mahat said. Those who are in power and hold positions of authority should not be exempted from investigation.

But the RSP has been refusing to form a committee targeting the home minister.

“Why is the Nepali Congress only after three cooperatives at a time when 16 cooperatives are in crisis?” said Manish Jha of the RSP.

The government has declared 20 cooperative firms as deeply crisis-ridden. The top managers of these cooperatives are either facing police charges or absconding.

“Why are you only after three cooperatives?” Jha asked Congress leaders. “Though we cannot probe all 31,000 cooperatives, we can probe those in crisis.” Jha said that Congress leaders have no uniform opinions on how to resolve the cooperative crisis.

“It’s been difficult for us to understand whose voice is authoritative in the Nepali Congress. The Congress office bearers have differing positions on forming the parliamentary committee and its terms of reference,” said Jha. “Who do we trust? We have urged the Nepali Congress leaders to come up with an official position on the party’s letterhead.”