Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been at the helm of the Federal Parliament for a year. In this period, the main opposition Nepali Congress has accused the speaker of the House of Representatives of favouring his Nepal Communist Party (NCP). He has also been criticised for passing some important bills related to fundamental rights without holding proper discussions. Since then, he has been inviting the prime minister and ministers to the House for direct question-answer sessions for interaction between lawmakers and the government. Jagdishor Panday of The Himalayan Times met Mahara at his residence in Baluwatar to discuss these issues. Excerpts:

You have been serving the House as its speaker for a year. How has the experience been?

The House held three sessions this year. It’s a privilege to be the speaker but the job comes with huge responsibilities. The job is also very challenging and these challenges are being tackled aptly.

There is criticism that House meetings are not as effective as in the past and discussions are not held properly. What is your take on this issue?

Yes, there were criticisms. But I’ve looked at international practices to make House proceedings as effective as possible. There is always room for improvement. But I don’t agree with the allegation that proper discussions were not held.

Who should be more responsible for running the House effectively — the government, lawmakers or the speaker?

The speaker’s role is to engage all lawmakers in discussions. Of course, the government should play a proactive role in running the House effectively and give special consideration to issues raised in the Parliament. The House sessions can move ahead smoothly only if the government addresses the concerns of lawmakers appropriately. If the government fails to do this, questions will be raised about the Parliament’s effectiveness. In my opinion, the government has been engaging with lawmakers more than even before. But it should do more to listen to the concerns of lawmakers and address them in a timely manner.

During the second session of Parliament, both Houses passed 16 bills related to fundamental rights without proper discussion. Is that the right way to pass bills?

It would be wrong to say those bills were passed without proper discussion. The government registered those bills in the Parliament in the eleventh hour. So, we had to suspend some legal provisions to rush them through the House. But they were passed on the basis of consensus among lawmakers. We had to resort to this measure because of pressure to meet the constitutional deadline. If we had allocated a week’s time to the respective committees to discuss those bills, it would have taken around one-and-a-half months to pass those legislations from both Houses. However, I’ve already told the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs not to register bills at the last moment. I’ve also asked the ministry to register the bills before the new session of Parliament is summoned, so that lawmakers get more time to discuss the content of the legislation.

But the recently concluded winter session of the House also saw the government registering bills in the eleventh hour, isn’t it?

Yes, some of the bills were registered in a hurry during the winter session as well. As a result, some of the provisions of those bills contradicted constitutional provisions. The government also registered some bills related to foreign investment at the last moment. Due to this, we had to extend the winter session by a month as the government wanted those legislations passed ahead of the Nepal Investment Summit, which concluded on Saturday. I’ve already told the government to register bills in the Parliament on time.

You were recently accused of rushing the National Medical Education Bill through the House by taking the ruling party’s side. This was widely condemned by the main opposition Nepali Congress as the bill contained controversial provisions. What do you have to say?

The truth is that the Nepali Congress was not unhappy with the contents of the National Medical Education Bill. The party was upset because the government had scrapped two hospitals in Nepalgunj and Tanahun named after their leaders Sushil Koirala and Girija Prasad Koirala. I later asked the government to address this issue and it was immediately sorted out. The bill was ultimately passed with majority. I often face accusations of taking sides whenever I fail to fulfil one side’s demands. Lawmakers must understand that I am not here to favour the ruling or the opposition party.

The House meetings have seen very low participation of senior lawmakers. Have you taken any measure to make them attend meetings regularly?

I haven’t issued any order. But this practice is prevalent in other countries as well, where senior lawmakers watch House proceedings on television in their residence. They attend parliamentary sessions only when important issues are brought up for discussion. Here, I’ve asked the whips and chief whips of political parties to make sure their lawmakers attend meetings regularly.

The recently concluded winter session saw the prime minister and ministers attending parliamentary meetings to answer lawmakers’ questions. But these question-answer sessions have not been able to generate the desired results, have they?

I personally took the initiative to launch the question-answer session. But due to lack of time, lawmakers were asked to submit questions in writing. The sessions would have been effective had lawmakers been able to speak out their questions. Also, government ministries should actively take part in these sessions. There will be some improvement in the next session of the House.

The parliamentary panels have also not been as active as before. What can be done to enhance their performance?

I have held two meetings with the chairpersons of parliamentary committees. The main responsibility of parliamentary committees is to discuss the content of bills registered in the Parliament. The committees should also monitor the government’s work and give it appropriate instructions.

But the government does not seem to be following the instructions of parliamentary committees. Take the case of Public Accounts Committee’s instruction on the purchase of two wide-body aircraft. The government failed to heed its call, isn’t it?

If the government doesn’t abide by parliamentary panels’ directives, its popularity and credibility will be questioned. The government is formed by the House, which also has the mandate to replace the government. So, the more the government is responsible towards the Parliament, the more effective it will become.

Lawmakers are saying some of the bills registered by the government are not as per the spirit of federalism. What is your take on this?

Bills that contradict the spirit of federalism can be amended. That’s why proper discussion must be held before the bills are passed. If the content of a bill contradicts the spirit of the constitution, the Parliament can send it back to the government. But minor issues can be sorted out in the House itself.

Lastly, when will the new session of the House begin?

The budget session will most likely start in the second week of May, as the budget must be tabled in the Parliament on May 29. The government presents its Policies and Programme 15 days ahead of the budget presentation.