Federal parliament in action 

After three months of announcement of results of federal parliament by the Election Commission, members of House of Representatives (HoR) took the oath of office from Mahantha Thakur, 75, eldest members of the House on Sunday. Similarly, members of National Assembly (NA) also took the oath of office from its eldest member Tara Devi Bhatta, 69. This is a historic day in Nepal’s march toward federal exercise. Thakur, who was one of the architects of the protest in the southern plains after the promulgation of the constitution, got the honor to administer the oath of office. This is remarkable for the country. We now have elected representatives at all levels of government envisioned by the constitution of Nepal 2015. The countdown starts now to deliver on the promises made on the campaign trail. 

Left Alliance leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, at an orientation session on Saturday, told their parliamentarians to work tirelessly on behalf of the people. We expect the new lawmakers to be active participant in the discussion sessions in the House and be the voice of the people where important and urgent issues will hopefully be debated and discussed. The federal parliament will have to move fast in debating and passing a whole host of bills that will ensure smooth functioning of a number of agencies under the federal structure. Everything that will be discussed inside the halls of HoR and NA will be watched and scrutinized closely. We expect both HoR and NA to be the vanguard of our young democracy. The parliament will have to be vigilant and check the excesses of the government and not be a mere rubber stamp. Different committees in the House and NA will take on vital task of scrutinizing and providing appropriate directions to the government and its agencies. 

If they can deliver with the rigor, then the people will feel that their representatives are doing their jobs earnestly. With the end of transition, Nepal now marches on the journey of prosperous future. Thirty million Nepalis have pinned their hopes on these members to carry out their works and take Nepal to the next level of development and prosperity. We wish the new members of both the House and NA the very best and hope that they will live up to the aspirations of the people. Sunday marks a big day in Nepal’s history of federal democratic republic.  This day will be cherished only if the parliamentarians start delivering according to public expectations. Their test has started.  

 
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