Nepal PM attends House session after 43 days

Kathmandu [Nepal], July 14 (ANI): Amidst rising criticism, Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah made a rare appearance in the House of Representatives after a gap of 43 days but left the meeting in less than 20 minutes.
As per the recording from the Parliament, the Prime Minister had entered the parliamentary meeting hall at 1:37 PM (Local Time) along with Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane and left at 1:55 pm.
Both the leaders had entered the parliament while an opposition lawmaker was making the statement which drew sharp reactions from opposition lawmakers.
"Section 6 of Rule 20 of the House of Representatives Rules prohibits walking between the Speaker's seat and a speaking member but ironically, Honorable Khushbu Oli was speaking. Since the Honourable Prime Minister and the President of the ruling party walked in violation of that rule, I would like to draw the attention of the Honourable Speaker to this and also demand a ruling on this." Ain Bahadur Mahar, Chief Whip of CPN-UML objected.
The Prime Minister's appearance in Parliament came amid mounting criticism over the government's inability to address various issues. The opposition lawmakers had long been demanding clarification over the statement about the border while addressing the parliament on May 31.
"I was very happy today. I was very happy to see that in the presence of the Prime Minister and was convinced that we don't have to spend a lot of time tomorrow demanding a response in the parliamentary meeting with the hope that he'll respond. But he couldn't bear with us for even two minutes. It is very sad," opposition lawmaker Yashudha Kumari Baraili said.
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah landed in controversy over his statement on the border issue with India. Though the opposition lawmakers had been demanding his clarification on the issue, the Prime Minister has been skipping parliament since then. (ANI)