Speaker says can't act against House hooligans

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: Lawmakers and some legal experts today urged Constituent Assembly Chairman Subas Nembang to take stern legal action against those involved in vandalism and obstruction of tabling of budget on November 3.

Nembang, however, has been saying that it is difficult to take action due to the weak provision of the parliament regulation. As all Maoist CA members present in the House meeting on that day were involved in obstructing the budget, it is difficult to take action against all of them, claimed Nembang.

Taking action is the responsibility of the Speaker and by declining to do so he will be violating parliament regulation, said Energy Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat. “The Speaker should have issued a ruling when the incident took place. Even if it is delayed, he should take action. The Nepali Congress has already demanded so from the Speaker in writing,” said Dr Mahat, who is also an NC central member.

CPN-UML Chief Whip Bhim Prasad Acharya said, “The parliament is a highly respectable forum for holding discussion of thoughts. Those involved in hooliganism should be taken to task for violating parliamentary decorum.”

Acharya added, “If the Speaker does not take action, impunity will prevail even in the parliament.”

Senior advocate Sindhu Nath Pyakurel suggested that the Speaker should maintain parliamentary decorum by asking the accused lawmakers to publicly confess what they did that day.

Advocate Sher Bahadur KC claimed that the Speaker had the right to suspend lawmakers indulging in vandalism.

Speakers wondered whether prime ministerial candidacy of Ramchandra Paudel would be transferred to next session of the parliament. NC’s Dr Mahat said, “The candidacy will be transferred, as Paudel has neither been elected nor rejected.”

UML’s Acharya said, “A proposal is naturally terminated with the prorogation of a House session. So Paudel’s candidacy does not exist now.”

Co-chairman of Sadbhawana Party Laxman Lal Karna said, “Paudel had filed his candidacy under a constitutional provision, so it cannot be scrapped citing a provision in parliament regulation.”

Jitendra Sonar of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party also opined that Paudel’s candidacy would remain intact in the next session.