The sustained effort to resolve the row over the parliamentary regulations has failed, leaving voting as the only option to decide the issue.

Speaker Onsari Gharti on Friday made her last-ditch effort to find consensus but the ruling and opposition parties did not give up their stances. The size of the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee is the main bone of contention among the parties. Last week Prime Minister KP Oli held a meeting with top leaders from major parties to sort the differences, but in vain.

The Parliament Secretariat started the majority process calling for amendments to the draft of the regulation that has been presented in the House. Six amendments have been registered by five parties seeking changes in some of the clauses.

The Regulation Drafting Committee had started its work about six months ago. But after failing to forge consensus, it submitted its report along with the disputed issues on May 2.

“There’s no hope for consensus. Now voting is the only way out,” said Yogendra Chaudhary, chief whip of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Loktantrik. The NC is firm on continuation of the 73-member hearing committee. At the meeting, the ruling parties pressed for downsizing the hearing committee to 15-member as envisioned in the Constitution of Nepal. 

According to Chaudhary, Parliament would decide on the regulations after the thematic discussion over the budget concludes on June 3.