KATHMANDU, Jan 12: Despite agreement among major political parties in the Constituent Assembly (CA) to unanimously elect the chairpersons of CA and parliamentary committees, four out of the 23 committees will be up for elections on Tuesday.
The chairpersons of two committees each in the CA and parliament will be elected as no consensus could be reached over them.[break]
Former General Secretary of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal will face a challenge from Dalit Janajati Party lawmaker Bishwendra Paswan for the post of chairman of the most important Constitutional Committee that will oversee the drafting of the new constitution.
Nepali Congress, Madhesi People’s Rights Forum and the Maoists supported Nepal’s candidacy as per a prior agreement but Paswan applied for the same position based on support from fringe parties in the CA including Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal and Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandidevi). Chandra Bahadur Gurung of RPP-N proposed his candidacy and Sarita Giri of NSP (A) seconded it.
Similarly, MPRF and CPN-ML members are contesting the post of chairperson of the Public Opinion Collection and Coordination committee. Janak Kumari Chalise of CPN-ML and Pramod Kumar Gupta of MPRF have applied for the post.
Meanwhile, two of the 10 parliamentary committees also could not select their chairpersons unopposed because of tussles between Maoists and UML leaders. Maoist leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi applied for the post of chairman of the State Affairs Committee in parliament, a post for which UML leader Ram Nath Dhakal had already applied. “UML breached the understanding,” said Maoist leader Khim Lal Devkota.
Earlier, Maoist leader and Law Minister Dev Gurung said the UML was going to head three committees in the CA and two in parliament.
Here´s a complete list of candidates:
CA committees:
1. Constitutional Committee: Madhav Nepal (UML) vs Bishwendra Paswan (DJP)
2. Public Opinion Collection and Coordination Committee: Janak Kumari Chalise (CPN-ML) vs Pramod Kumar Gupta (MPRF)
3. Committee for Rights of Minority and Marginalized Communities: Lal Babu Pundit (UML)
4. Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles Committee: Binda Pandey (UML)
5. National Interests Preservation Committee: Amik Sherchan (Maoist)
6. State Restructuring and Sharing of State Power Committee: Lokendra Bista Magar (Maoist)
7. Judicial System Committee: Prabhu Sah Teli (Maoist)
8. Economic Rights and Sharing of Natural Resources and Public Revenue Committee: Amrita Thapa Magar (Maoist)
9. Civil Relations Committee: Meena Pandedy (NC)
10. Committee for Determining Legislative Bodies: Ramesh Rijal (NC)
11. Committee for Determining the Form of Governance System: Sambhu Hazara Dusadh (NC)
12. Capacity Building and Resource Management Committee: Mrirgendra Kumar Singh Yadav (MPRF)
13. Committee for Determining the Form of Constitutional Bodies: Gobinda Chaudhari (TMDP)
14. Committee for Determining the Bases of Cultural and Social Unity-Nabodita Choudhari (RPP).
Parliamentary Committees:
1. State Affairs Committee: Top Bahadur Rayamajhi (Maoist) vs Ram Nath Dhakal (UML)
2. Legislative Committee: Sarita Giri (NSP-A) vs Yashoda Gurung Subedi (Maoist)
3. International Relations Committee: Padam Lal Bishwakarma (Maoist)
4. Finance and Labor Relations Committee: Sushila Kandangba (Maoist)
5. Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee: Kul Bahadur Gurung (NC)
6. Public Accounts Committee: Ram Krishna Yadav (NC)
7. Natural Resources and Means Committee: Shanta Devi Chaudhari (UML)
8. Women, Children and Social Welfare Committee: Sandhya Devi Dev (MPRF)
9. Development Committee: Jitendra Prasad Sonal (TMDP)
10. Security Special Committee: Subas Nembang (Ex-officio)
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