Kathmandu: The main opposition Nepali Congress has accused Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal of violating parliamentary norms and attempting to suppress the voice of the opposition in parliament.

Speaking during an emergency meeting of the House of Representatives on Thursday, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Niskal Rai criticized the Speaker’s role, alleging that he had failed to remain impartial while handling disputes inside the House.

Rai argued that the Speaker had not supported opposition efforts to make the government accountable to parliament and the public.

“As the guardian of parliament, the Speaker should not allow the dignity and prestige of the House to be compromised even by an inch,” Rai said.

The Congress leader also objected to Speaker Aryal’s criticism of lawmakers from the Shram Sanskriti Party Nepal for displaying placards inside parliament demanding accountability from Prime Minister Balendra Shah.

Rai accused the Speaker of applying double standards by condemning protests now while remaining silent when the current ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party had carried out similar demonstrations while in opposition.

“The party that is in power today was in opposition yesterday,” Rai said. “At that time, they surrounded the well of the House, sat on the floor and protested demanding accountability. How was that parliamentary then, but unconstitutional now when another opposition party carries placards?”

He further accused Prime Minister Balen of attempting to avoid parliamentary scrutiny by not appearing in the House to answer questions related to government policies, programs and other national issues.

“For some time now, the opposition has been trying to hold the government accountable,” Rai said. “But neither the government nor the honorable Speaker supported those efforts.”

According to Rai, parliament itself has become “allergic” to the government because of the executive’s reluctance to engage openly in parliamentary debate.

The Nepali Congress maintained that preserving the dignity of parliament is primarily the responsibility of both the Speaker and the government. The party urged Speaker Aryal not to encourage what it described as extra-parliamentary behavior by the executive and not to restrict opposition voices within the House.