Kathmandu, May 16

The Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party today decided that it would ‘continue with its position of opposition’ to the parliamentary regulation with the provision of suspending lawmakers facing criminal charges, if the government tried to get the regulation endorsed through voting and not through consensus.

The government had planned to get the regulation passed today, but the plan could not materialise due to NC’s reservations. The government now plans to present the regulation for final decision in the Parliament on Friday.

NC lawmaker Min Bahadur Bishwakarma said his party opposed the provision of suspending lawmakers facing criminal charges in the regulation because it was against the agreement reached in the past.

“All the parties agreed to the provisions in the regulation before it was presented in the Parliament. But some CPN-UML leaders presented amendment proposals seeking inclusion of the provision of suspending crime-accused lawmakers. No other party, except the UML, wants inclusion of the provision,” he said.

Bishwakarma also said the government’s move to include the provision, which was against the law and the constitution, was guided by its vested interest of controlling not only the opposition but also the entire Parliament. “It is a move to control the legislature by the executive,” he said.

According to Bishwakarma, any suspension ordered by the Parliament cannot be challenged in the court. “We suggested to the government to devise a law, but it does not want so. This clearly suggests that the government, especially the UML, has ill-intensions,” he said, adding that such a move is against the principle of separation of powers.