Kathmandu, 26 August (H.S.): Nearly five months after assuming office, Prime Minister Balen Shah is set to formally respond to questions from lawmakers in Parliament for the first time on Wednesday. Although parliamentary practice requires the Prime Minister to answer written questions submitted by lawmakers, Shah has so far avoided the procedure.

At the August 17 sitting of the House of Representatives, Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal scheduled August 26 for the question-and-answer session. The parliamentary meeting has been convened for 1 pm, with a question hour included on the agenda.

Eleven opposition lawmakers have submitted their questions to the Federal Parliament Secretariat. Their questions cover issues ranging from shortages of cooking gas and fertilisers, displacement of landless families, rising inflation and corruption to border-related concerns and the Prime Minister’s style of functioning.

The Parliament Secretariat had asked a total of 15 lawmakers from all parties represented in the House, including the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), to submit questions. However, only three RSP lawmakers submitted questions, according to the information provided. Parliamentary rules provide for 15 questions to be raised during a question-and-answer session in a single sitting.

The lawmakers’ questions have been forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office through the Parliament Secretariat. This time, a system has been adopted under which every party represented in the House will be allocated at least one question, while the remaining questions will be distributed according to the parties’ parliamentary strength.

Under the arrangement, the ruling RSP has been allocated seven questions, while the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have received two each. The CPN (Maoist Centre) has also been allocated two questions, while the Shram Sanskriti Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) have received one question each.

According to a source at the Parliament Secretariat, four lawmakers from the RSP have submitted questions. Lawmakers will raise the registered questions during Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting, while the Prime Minister will present prepared responses before the House.

Shah, who was sworn in as Prime Minister on March 27, had unexpectedly appeared in the House on May 31. He had sought time from the Speaker and responded to questions from lawmakers. Opposition parties, however, objected to the procedure, citing Rule 56 of the House of Representatives Regulations and arguing that the process did not conform to parliamentary rules.

The question-and-answer session scheduled for today will be conducted through a direct question-and-answer process in accordance with the provisions of Rule 56.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar