Hundreds of young protesters marched along rain-soaked streets outside Parliament in Baneswor on Thursday, their mouths gagged with black face masks. They carried signs such as: ‘I am a Member of Parliament, and my silence protects the greedy.’
Inside Parliament, MPs were actually silent, lazily waiting for the top leaders of the Big Three parties to decide whether to bring up in the House a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister KP Oli, or the three bills required to implement the new budget. The top leaders failed to reach an agreement, and the House was adjourned until Friday.
Regime change seemed inevitable after the CPN (Maoist-Centre) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, backed by NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, registered a no-confidence motion against the Oli government last week. But Oli is clinging on to power, trying to foil the Dahal-Deuba alliance. However, with only the RPP-N and other fringe parties by his side, and Madhesi parties on Dahal’s side, Oli is unlikely to be able to save his government.