Speaker asks govt to bring all necessary bills soon

KATHMANDU, Dec 26: Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara has drawn the attention of the government toward the delay in registering urgent bills in parliament on Tuesday, the eve of the start of the winter session of parliament. 

The winter session also known as bills session will start Wednesday afternoon. Saying that not enough number of bills have been registered, Mahara drew the attention of Minister for Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal in the parliament’s Business Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday. 

“I have drawn the attention of the government including the prime minister and law minister about the delay in registering urgent bills including those related to implementing the constitution. They have assured me of forwarding necessary laws very soon,” said Mahara after the meeting.

With the Article 304 of the constitution states that any laws or provisions contradicting the constitution will be invalid in a year after the first sitting of the federal parliament, the government should replace or amend over 170 laws by March 4. The first meeting of the parliament was held on March 5 after the election of the bicameral parliament under the new constitution.

With the constitutional deadline to amend the laws contradicting the statute just two months away, the government has so far registered a ‘Some Nepal Act Amendment Bill’ in parliament to amend 55 various laws and two other bills.

Minister Dhakal informed at the Business Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday that the government is all set to register seven other bills and several others will be registered soon. 

“I have drawn the attention of the minister not to force us to endorse bills by suspending the parliament procedures,” said Mahara recalling the fast-track endorsement of a fundamental right related laws earlier this year due to deadline pressure.

Seven other bills are under deliberations in various parliamentary committees while three bills have been approved by the upper house and are awaiting lower house endorsement. 

The government will table the Civil Servants Adjustment Ordinance, which was issued earlier this month in the absence of House session, in the first meetings of both the lower and upper houses of parliament on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, both houses of parliament will express condolences on the deaths of three former parliamentarians – Chakra Prasad Bastola, Padma Ratna Tuladhar and Moti Devi Tharu.

Meanwhile, a new arrangement has been made in the parliament hall. For the first time, tables have been placed in front of the seats of all lawmakers in the lower house. Earlier only half of the lower house members had tables.

 
• winter_session_parliament_bills_session_Speaker_Krishna_Bahadur_Mahara