KATHMANDU, June 28: Main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker and former health minister Gagan Thapa has registered a motion at parliament drawing the attention of Minister for Education, Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, toward the deadline for endorsing the Replacement Bill on Medical Education Ordinance on Wednesday. 

Reminding the fast-approaching constitutional deadline for endorsing the replacement bill from both houses of the federal parliament, Thapa has demanded that the minister inform parliament about the preparations for tabling the bill at the House. 

According to the constitution, an ordinance become invalid if its replacement bill is not endorsed by the House within 60 days of issuance from the president or commencement of the House session. After missing the deadline to replace the ordinance within two months of commencement of federal parliament session, the president had re-issued the ordinance in April for avoiding a legal void. 

The government must endorse the replacement bill by July 7 to avoid the invalidation of the existing law, enacted through the ordinance. “The government must be aware that the law will be null and void if the replacement bill is not endorsed within few days and ordinance cannot be issued again. But the government doesn’t seem to be serious,” reads the motion submitted to the Speaker of the lower house. NC lawmakers Dev Prasad Timilsina and Dibya Mani Rajbhandari have seconded the motion.

“Parliament needs to caution the government for retaining the key achievement and its implementation accordingly in the education sector. Has the government prepared for the replacement bill,” reads the motion. “It has become necessary to direct the government to bring a replacement bill in line with the ordinance at the earliest.” 

According to the House Regulations, the minister concerned should respond to the motion immediately or in the next meetings as fixed by the Speaker. Tabling the motion, Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara will ask the minister to answer to the motion in the House meeting.

 
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