Kathmandu: The taskforce established to finalize the terms of reference (ToR) for a parliamentary probe into the embezzlement of cooperative funds ended its meeting on Thursday without reaching a conclusion. Another meeting is scheduled for 8:30 am on Friday.

The meeting, held at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, could not achieve consensus due to the opposition Nepali Congress (NC)'s insistence on including the name of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the investigation. "We are close to reaching a consensus on the terms of reference of the committee. Final touch will be given after holding a meeting at 8:30 tomorrow morning," stated Mahesh Bartaula, Chief Whip of the CPN (UML) parliamentary party.

After the meeting, NC leader Jeevan Pariyar reiterated that the ruling parties' proposal to advance the probe without mentioning the Home Minister was unacceptable to the NC. "We have clearly communicated this," Pariyar said.

The NC has been obstructing both houses of parliament, demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to conduct an impartial investigation into the cooperative fund embezzlement, which allegedly involves Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane. An agreement to form the probe committee was reached on May 18 between the ruling parties and the NC.

The taskforce, which aims to finalize the ToR before the House of Representatives meeting scheduled for 11:00 am on Friday, includes Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Padam Giri, CPN (UML) Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula, NC leaders Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and Jeevan Pariyar, and Shishir Khanal of the Rastriya Swatantra Party.