BUTWAL, Oct 5: Lawmakers belonging to the main opposition party, Nepali Congress (NC), broke several tables and chairs as Province 5 Assembly deliberated on the proposal tabled earlier to finalize the name of the province and its permanent capital.
The meeting which was scheduled again for Tuesday is expected to endorse the proposal to make Dang the new capital city of the province and name it as Lumbini despite protest from the NC lawmakers.
Addressing the assembly meeting amid hullabaloo of NC lawmakers, Internal Affairs Minister for the Province 5 Kul Prasad KC said the government would not backtrack on its decision to name Deukhuri of Dang district as the capital city and Lumbini as the name of the province.
It’s official: Janakpur is the capital of Province 2!
As the meeting started deliberating on the proposal on the name and capital city of the province, the NC lawmakers vented their ire and resorted to vandalism inside the assembly hall. Marshals had to be mobilized to bring them under control.
Endorsing the proposal requires a two-thirds majority vote in the assembly. There are altogether 87 lawmakers in the provincial assembly, including 61 lawmakers from the ruling NCP.
The ruling Nepal Communist Party has already issued a whip to all its lawmakers to cast their votes in favor of the proposal.
Earlier on Monday, the meeting was briefly adjourned following protest by the NC lawmakers opposing the decision of the government to name Province 5 as Lumbini and fix Dang as its permanent capital city.
