With the government preparing to unveil the budget for the upcoming fiscal year by mid-May, there is limited time for the winter session of parliament. Though the budget session was prorogued on November 9, the government, in the midst of feuding with the opposition over constitution drafting, did not summoned the winter session.
While there is no specific mandatory provision in the constitution and laws, the established practice is to convene parliament twice a year. Also known as the bills session, the winter session is focused on the deliberation and endorsement of bills.
In frequent meetings with key government ministers, Speaker Nembang has been urging the government to summon the winter session at the earliest. On Wednesday, he met Minister for Forests Mahesh Acharya, who is close to the prime minister, and informed him about the concern of the political parties and other stakeholders over the uncertainty of the parliamentary session.
"There is concern among political parties in parliament and other stakeholders over the uncertainty of the winter session and I informed him about it," said Nembang after the meeting. "I have suggested to the government that the winter session should be summoned even if only for a short duration, as we have a practice of summoning it."
Nembang held discussions with the minister for law, Jjustice and parliament affairs on Tuesday and suggested the government expedite the process for summoning the session. As per the constitutional provisions, the president summons the session following a recommendation from the prime minister.
Speaker Nembang also spoke to the chief whips of major political parties on Wednesday about the delay in the winter session.
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