Nepal, July 15 -- Lawmakers from both the ruling coalition and opposition parties have begun questioning Prime Minister Balendra Shah's repeated use of the "expressway" metaphor to describe his government's style of governance.

The criticism reached a new level in Tuesday's House of Representatives meeting when even a ruling coalition lawmaker challenged the government's emphasis on speed, bringing the issue to the center of political debate.

Speaking in Parliament, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Rima Bishwokarma referred to the recent self-immolation cases involving Ganesh Nepali of Mugu, Bibek Mandal of Sarlahi, and Ashwin Raut of Buddhanagar. She questioned whether the very people for whom laws are being drafted are instead...