Cabinet sitting on 10 bills for a month
KATHMANDU, Aug 15: The government appears to be ignoring the fast-approaching constitutional deadline to introduce laws to implement the fundamental rights of the citizens.
From Tuesday, just 35 days remain for the government to introduce the laws. For the past one month, the cabinet has been sitting on ten various bills. September 19 [Ashwin 3] marks the third anniversary of the promulgation of the constitution.
Citizens’ rights first
In the past three years, the government has registered the drafts of the six of the total 16 necessary laws at the parliament secretariat. There are 31 fundamental rights enlisted in the constitution.
“In the beginning we asked the ministries concerned to draft the bills, but after most of the ministries failed to do so, the Ministry of Law itself drafted the bills. Now all the necessary bills are either in the cabinet for approval or in parliament,” said Ramesh Dhakal, spokesman at the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. According to him 10 bills are in the cabinet under consideration and six have been registered in parliament.
The Ministry of Law has accused other ministries of non-cooperation in drafting the bills.
Among the six bills registered in parliament, the parliament on Tuesday asked lawmakers to register their amendments, if any, to two bills -- the Right to Safe Maternity and Reproductive Health Bill and Consumer Right Bill.
Likewise the National Assembly has also sought amendment proposals on the Bill on Rights of Differently-Abled Persons and Environment Preservation Bill from Tuesday.
Two other bills including the Right to Residence and Right of Crime Victims are also under consideration in parliament.
