The bill was withdrawn after Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) lawmaker JP Gupta objected to the amendment proposal citing parliamentary regulations according to which the Parliament Secretariat should provide all the members with a copy of the bill and any member opposing the bill should inform about it a day before the meeting.
Gupta said the government brought the proposal directly to the House without informing lawmakers in advance.
"We weren´t given the chance to file any objection as it was brought directly to the House without lawmakers´ knowledge," Gupta said. After his objection, Speaker Subas Nembang ruled Minister Singh to table the bill later.
The amendment would allow the president and the vice president to take oath of office and secrecy in any of the mother tongues spoken in Nepal. But the provision also requires that the person taking oath should provide the authorities a translated copy of their oath at least 24 hours before the swearing-in.
Gupta said he opposed the tabling of the bill as it would not address the existing problem that surfaced after the Supreme Court nullified the oath taken in Hindi by the now defunct Vice President Paramananda Jha. "Afterwards, the government had agreed to address the problem, but the amendment will not end the controversy surrounding the vice president," said Gupta.
The constitution amendment allowing the president and the vice president to take oath in mother tongues doesn´t legalize the oath taken in Hindi by the vice president as laws are prospective, not retrospective.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities passed
The parliament on Sunday passed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the UN intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law.
Related story
Citizenship Bill withdrawn from House
