Kathmandu. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli tried to rule by ordinance, repeatedly deceiving Parliament. The period between the sessions of the parliament was almost six months.
The then Prime Minister Oli twice dissolved the House of Representatives. However, both times the House of Representatives was restored by the Supreme Court.
However, Sher Bahadur Deuba is now the prime minister on behalf of the Nepali Congress, the CPN-Maoist Center, the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), and the CPN-UML's Madhav Nepal faction.
There are indications that the same Deuba has started following Oli's 'footsteps' in governance. And there are suspicions that Deuba is also trying to rule from the ordinance. Here are some examples.
UML, the main opposition party, has said that the parliament session was adjourned to bring an ordinance on political parties.
First: Parliament session ends in 29 days
The Deuba-led government ended the current session of the House of Representatives in 29 days.
Deuba, who came to power, ended the session in 29 days, accusing the Oli government of not being able to speak on issues of public concern in the absence of a sitting of the parliament.
After the restoration of the House of Representatives by the decision of the Supreme Court on 28 July 2078, the session of the Parliament (both Houses) started on 3 July. And continued for a total of 29 days till July 13. In the meantime, 10 sittings of the House of Representatives and 12 sittings of the National Assembly were held. In terms of time, the House of Representatives spent 20 hours and 15 minutes and the National Assembly spent 20 hours and 48 minutes.
In terms of work, the National Assembly passed seven bills in the current session. Nepal Aviation Authority Bill 2078, Nepal Civil Aviation Authority Bill 2078, Yogamaya Ayurveda University Bill 2078, Statistics Bill 2078, Standard Weights (Fifth Amendment) Bill 2078, Railway Bill 2078, and Accreditation Bill 2078.
Including these bills, the number of bills passed by the National Assembly and reaching the House of Representatives with the message has reached 13. However, the House of Representatives has made no progress on the bill. The House of Representatives did not move the bills in the House of Representatives.
Second, the ordinance was not discussed in Parliament
After the convention began, the Deuba government introduced the ordinances brought by the then Oli government in both houses. However, there was no discussion.
The then Oli government had brought the budget through an ordinance. There were three ordinances related to the budget (Financial Ordinance, 2078, National Debt Raising Ordinance, 2078, and Appropriation Ordinance, 2078). Apart from the budget, 12 different ordinances were also introduced in both houses.
Budgets introduced in the House and ordinances other than those related to the budget
Ordinance to amend some acts related to criminal offenses and criminal procedure, 2078
Ordinance to amend some acts against sexual violence, 2078
Nepal Police and State Police (Operation, Supervision, and Coordination) (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2078 BS
Social Security (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2078
The Acid and Other Dangerous Chemical Substances (Regulation) Ordinance, 2078
Nepal Citizenship (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2078
COVID-19 Crisis Management Ordinance, 2078
Medicine (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2078
Ordinance on Health Workers and Health Institutions (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2078 BS
Railway Ordinance, 2078
Oath Ordinance, 2078
Commission for Investigation, Verification, and Reconciliation of Disappeared Persons (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2077 BS
(Note: The Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights, and Procedures) Ordinance (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2077 brought by the Oli government, returned after the Deuba government came to power)
Article 114 of the constitution provides that the government can bring an ordinance in the absence of a parliamentary session. These ordinances have to be presented in the first sitting of the parliament.
According to the constitution, the ordinance must be decided within 60 days of the start of the parliamentary session. If rejected, the ordinance becomes inactive from the day of the decision. Accept or reject is automatically deactivated within 60 days.
According to the constitutional provision, the ordinances brought by the Oli government were introduced in both houses. However, there was no discussion.
Now the question is what happens to those ordinances. The ordinance has passed 29 days. It now has 31 days to live. If another convention is convened within 31 days and a replacement bill is introduced, it can be continued. Otherwise, the government should bring the same ordinance again or the previous action will be activated.
Third, the fear of bringing the ordinance again
In an informal conversation a few days ago, Pushpa Bhusal, a whip of the ruling Nepali Congress, said, "We are discussing whether to issue an ordinance again or move a replacement bill."
In other words, the government went for the first option out of the two options of bringing an ordinance by ending the parliamentary session or bringing a replacement bill by keeping the house running.
However, the concern is not only with the ordinance on issues related to the budget. There are also 12 other ordinances brought by the Oli government. Moreover, there is a possibility of issuing an ordinance on political parties to make it easier for the CPN-UML to split. This has been indicated by the Congress leaders themselves.
Asked why the session ended without entering into any business, ruling Congress MP Prakash Rasaili 'Snehi' said, 'The government had to end the session to move forward effectively. An ordinance on political parties had to be brought.
Madhav Nepal had to register a new party. And Madhav had to join the Nepal government. Then the parliament gets the business, the government can work effectively, the house also gets the business. '
The ordinance on political parties, which was expected to be brought by the government, was brought twice by the Oli government. However, due to four-sided protests in both cases, the work could not be done as per the ordinance on political parties.
The government is now in a political alliance that strongly opposes the Oli government's ordinance on political parties intending to split any party. Opposition groups called for the beleaguered PM to resign.
UML, the main opposition party, has said that the parliament session was adjourned to bring an ordinance on political parties.
Chief Whip Vishal Bhattarai said that no discussion was held on the parliamentary session. He said that the next session was scheduled to be convened on August 19, but the parliamentary session ended abruptly.
UML chief whip of the National Assembly Khimlal Bhattarai says, "We were not even informed. No advice was given. The parliament ended in a guerrilla-style. '
According to the leaders of the ruling coalition, it was not certain that any business would be passed in the parliament. That is why the convention is over. "The government will move the bill forward based on its arithmetic," he said. The bill cannot be moved forward as it will not be passed. There is no point in keeping the parliament running as the bill could not be moved forward, ”a minister told online news.
According to the minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba was not in a position to assume that the 165 votes he received during the vote of confidence would always remain. That is to say, even if one bill is passed, another bill or any business of the House can be passed below 165.
There are currently 271 members in the House of Representatives. Its majority is 136. Deuba had the support of 165 people, including 22 UML MPs, on July 19. According to sources, the ruling coalition has a strategy of splitting the UML and bringing the Madhav Nepal faction into the government by bringing an action on political parties to maintain it.
'Oli tried to rule by ordinance even though he had the number of MPs. Deuba is trying to bring an ordinance to increase the number as he does not have the number, 'says political analyst Vishnu Dahal.' The end of the parliamentary session in a short time is an attempt to split the UML. '
Constitutionalist Bipin Adhikari says that the people are not interested in the problems of the political parties. "After the start of the parliament, I was convinced that the work could be carried out with fun," he said. But, it ended in a month, there is no visible product, 'he said.
