Parliament faced another instance of lawmakers’ insincerity towards their job on Friday as they abandoned a meeting after recording their attendance.

The Legislature-Parliament was scheduled to endorse bills related to three inclusive commissions. As many as 477 MPs had signed the register when the meeting commenced but the session had to be adjourned without entering the main business in the lack of a quorum as the lawmakers left soon afterwards.

When Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party lawmaker Dilli Kafle demanded that the House meeting be adjourned for it lacked quorum, Speaker Onasari Gharti ordered a headcount. Only 97 lawmakers were in attendance. According to Article 94 of the Constitution of Nepal, at least 149 lawmakers—one fourth of their total number—must be present in the House for the parliamentary process to begin. The House currently has 592 members. MPs get Rs500 in allowance for attending a meeting, in addition to Rs1,000 to cover their transport expenses.

The House was scheduled to endorse the bills related to the National Dalit Commission, the National Inclusion Commission and the Indigenous Nationality Commission. The House had, on Wednesday, unanimously endorsed the bills necessary for forming the commissions.

There have been repeated incidents of House adjournment in the past few months in the lack of the required number of attendants. In the parliamentary practice, it is a duty of the ruling parties to ensure a smooth functioning of Parliament. The House meets next on Sunday.