The winter session of the federal parliament commenced on Friday with heated back and forth between the ruling and opposition parties.

While ruling party leaders painted a rosy picture of the country following formation of the incumbent government, opposition lawmakers claimed deep frustration had gripped the common people, the economy had stagnated, and corruption had become rampant under the government’s watch.

Addressing the House of Representatives, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli countered the criticism, claiming that his government, formed amid unprecedented pessimism, had successfully turned the tide, improved the economy and accelerated the pace of development. He said the government has already institutionalised political reforms, and is now working to make the 2080’s [in Bikram Sambat] a decade of prosperity.

“We have initiated unprecedented reforms in governance and the business environment,” he said, backing his claim with data showing positive indicators since he assumed office in mid-July.

The UML-Congress government led by Oli was formed on July 14 with the claim that a strong government was vital for stability, economic development and constitution amendment.

In his address, the prime minister said foreign exchange reserves had increased, balance of payments had improved and international trade had surged in the first half of the fiscal year 2024-25. He also claimed the capital expenditure was on track, the revenue collection had increased by 13 percent and lending from banks also had gone up in the period compared to the previous fiscal year.

The prime minister spent a big portion of his address defending the ordinances issued earlier this month amid the opposition’s sharp criticism. Oli claimed it was necessary to amend 29 Acts through ordinances in order to improve governance, attract investment, and cut the red tape.

“Issuing the ordinances was a necessity. The government couldn’t wait any more for critical reforms in public services, business operations, land management, and financial regulations,” he said. “However, now they are the property of Parliament, which can endorse them fully, partially, or even reject them.”

Oli, who also is UML chairperson, was critical of parliamentary delays in endorsing pending bills. He called for a broad understanding to get all parliamentary bills endorsed in two months, and three months if some of some bills require intense discussions.

“If bills don’t get through in 90 days, the government will opt for an alternative [ordinances],” he said. “Why do some bills take over half a decade for parliamentary approval? We must contemplate on this question.”

Oli, however, failed to list out the reasons for the delay in endorsement of bills through parliament. In parliamentary democracy, the ruling parties bear the responsibility of ensuring timely deliberations in the House plenum and thematic committees.

Rejecting the opposition’s claim that the government wants to introduce legislation to ease the split of some political parties, Oli said he was not part of such a dirty game. He said breaking and splitting other parties was not the government’s priority.

“Against the wishes of some respected leaders, I also want to reaffirm that this coalition will continue until 2027 (2084 BS),” he said, targeting CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Of late, Dahal has been reiterating that the Congress-UML coalition won’t last long.

Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba, who addressed the lower house after Oli, defended the government. Stating that the government was formed for stability and to lift the country out of economic distress, the ruling coalition was working in this direction.

“The main goal of the government is to strengthen the federal democratic republic, establish lasting peace, control corruption, revitalise the country’s economy, and achieve prosperity by strengthening the economic condition. The government has made progress in this direction. I am confident that we will continue to do good work,” said former prime minister Deuba. “I also think six months are not enough to make a comprehensive evaluation of any government.”

The Congress is the largest coalition partner in the Oli government.

The opposition leaders, however, rejected the claims of the ruling parties. They were of the view that the government was fooling the country by presenting routine progress as achievement.

“What role does the government have in increasing foreign exchange reserves? Isn’t it the money earned by selling our sons and brothers [abroad],” asked Rastriya Prajatantra Party chair Rajendra Lingden. “The Congress-UML government has only increased frustration among the general public. It seems this government was constituted to promote corruption and protect the corrupt.”

Countering Oli’s claim that he would not indulge in corruption nor allow others to do so, Lingden claimed people around him were deeply involved in corruption. “Your people are offering different political positions in exchange for tens of millions of rupees. I don’t know whether you are involved, but your people are openly involved in corruption,” he claimed.

Likewise, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmakers came down heavily on the government, claiming the state power had been weaponised against their party president Rabi Lamichhane.

“It is clear this government has misused the prosecution authority to target him [Lamichhane]. The only intent behind lodging cases in five different districts is to harass him,” said RSP lawmaker Swarnim Wagle. Stating that Lamichhane’s suspension was biased, Wagle also claimed his party would seek judicial intervention in the matter.

The fourth largest party, according to Wagle, would push for the formation of a judicial committee to look into all corruption cases and investigate properties of those in power in the past.

All the opposition parties unanimously questioned the intent behind issuing the ordinances, which were issued just a few weeks before the commencement of the winter session.

“What has been achieved by issuing the ordinances shortly before the summoning of Parliament?” said Hitraj Pandey, Maoist Centre chief whip. “We object to the issuance of ordinances while bills of the same nature are at the stage of finalisation by House panels.”

Despite the opposition’s reservations, all six ordinances were introduced in the lower house. There is a constitutional obligation to table the ordinances in the first meeting of the new House session. As per the calendar of the lower house, the ordinances will be presented in the next House meeting that has been called for Thursday.

Before the start of the House proceedings, the Rastriya Swatantra Party tried to put pressure on Speaker Devraj Ghimire to allow it to present its concerns first. But Ghimire, despite the obstruction, refused to allocate time to the party, saying time would be allotted based on the strength of individual parties.

As the Speaker started the House proceedings, ignoring its demands, the party’s lawmakers boycotted the House for 15 minutes, in what they termed a ‘symbolic protest’. Later, Wagle addressed the meeting on his turn.