Kathmandu, May 13. A political wave swept the country after Prime Minister Balen Shah (Balen) walked out midway while President Ramchandra Paudel was reading the government’s policy and program in the Federal Parliament.
However, the National Independent Party (RSP), which had supported his appointment as Prime Minister, has not issued an official position on the incident.
Criticism has been mounting from all sides after the Prime Minister left the session while the President was presenting the government’s policy and program under his own leadership. Yet, RSP appears silent.
Earlier as well, during the tabling of proposals in Parliament, he had reportedly refused to speak following parliamentary procedures. He tabled the proposal without saying a single word, which had already raised questions.
While he was already being criticised for undermining parliamentary practice, his exit during the presentation of his own government’s policy and program was seen as even more surprising, becoming an “exceptional” incident in parliamentary history.
Opposition parties have expressed anger over the Prime Minister’s “irresponsible” conduct, while RSP lawmakers are also reportedly growing dissatisfied internally.
An RSP lawmaker said the scene of the Prime Minister unexpectedly leaving while the President was presenting the government’s program felt unusual.
“Even our party colleagues were dissatisfied. We discussed among ourselves that this should not have happened. The Prime Minister should have stayed until the Head of State’s farewell, but for some reason that did not happen,” the lawmaker said.
He added that even as Speaker D.P. Aryal was issuing a ruling asking everyone to stand in respect for the President, they were surprised not to see the Prime Minister present. The Prime Minister had left about 15 minutes before the policy and program concluded.
According to a source close to RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane, he was aware of the Prime Minister’s health condition.
“Some dissatisfaction within such a big party is not unusual. Ravi Dai was already aware of the Prime Minister’s health condition. It would have been better if yesterday had gone differently. But the Prime Minister’s health itself was the reason,” the source said.
The source claimed that the Prime Minister initially left due to health issues.
Although it is customary for the Prime Minister and other officials to see off the President after the policy and program is delivered, that did not happen.
“The Prime Minister did not plan it that way. The situation arose due to health issues. Rather than criticism, RSP lawmakers should understand this,” the source said.
Following the criticism, the Prime Minister’s political adviser Asim Shah clarified that the Prime Minister left briefly due to discomfort.
In a Facebook post, he wrote: “The Prime Minister experienced health discomfort during the presentation of the policy and program and stepped out for a short break. He later rejoined the program. His health condition is normal.”
However, he deleted the post within minutes, further increasing suspicion.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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