KATHMANDU: Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, chair of Maoist Centre, has voiced serious concerns about alleged “manipulation and meddling” with bills that have already received unanimous approval from parliamentary committees.
These issues, he claims, are occurring when the bills move to the House of Representatives.
Dahal made these remarks on Wednesday during a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee. He was participating in discussions about amendments to the Nepal Police Act.
He expressed strong dissatisfaction that some bills, despite being unanimously passed by committees, are either being removed from the House’s agenda at the last minute or facing undue influence. Dahal issued a stern warning to the government, urging them to stop this practice.
“We’ve seen a trend where bills that we’ve worked very hard to bring to parliament and get unanimously passed by committees are being removed from the agenda,” he said. “Our request is that such meddling should not happen.”
Dahal highlighted the critical need for important bills like the Federal Civil Service Bill and the School Education Bill to be implemented. He urged both the government and the committee chair to prioritize these vital pieces of legislation.
“If sensitive bills are deliberately stalled,” he added, “we will not stay silent.”
He also stressed that the Police Bill should be passed only after thorough discussion and with maximum revisions. According to Dahal, the drafting of this bill must consider previous debates, the opinions of stakeholders, and the core principles of federalism.
Dahal also called for all political parties to work together to create the legal foundations needed to resolve the existing confusion around the effective implementation of federalism.
Following Dahal’s warning, other members of parliament attending the meeting also declared that they would not tolerate unnecessary interference with bills that have received unanimous committee approval.
Comment