KATHMANDU: Speaker Devraj Ghimire undertook a series of consultations today in an effort to facilitate the smooth functioning of Parliament.

Ahead of the House session, he held separate meetings with Hitraj Pandey, chief whip of the main opposition CPN (Maoist Centre), followed by discussions with Shyam Ghimire of the Nepali Congress and Mahesh Bartaula of the CPN-UML.

According to the Speaker’s Secretariat, the discussions were focused on how to conduct today’s House session without disruptions, particularly as the agenda includes the commencement of deliberations on the annual budget for the fiscal year 2082/83.

The opposition parties have once again planned to obstruct today’s House session, demanding the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak over his alleged involvement in the controversial visit visa scandal.

Despite repeated appeals from ruling coalition leaders to allow the budget debate to proceed, opposition forces have remained firm on their stance.

In a bid to defuse the impasse, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli held talks on Monday with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.

However, the discussions ended without any breakthrough, as opposition leaders refused to back down from their demand for the Home Minister’s resignation.

Despite these efforts, tensions remain high as the opposition is determined to block proceedings until Minister Lekhak steps down.