KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 8
The House of Representatives Regulations Drafting Committee has proposed to complete impeachment probe against the president and the vice-president within three months and that against the chief justice, members of the Judicial Council, and office bearers of other constitutional bodies within five months.
Member of the drafting committee Subas Chandra Nembang told THT that members of the committee proposed short period for impeachment investigation to ensure that the motion would not become a political weapon to keep alleged office bearers, other than the president and the vice-president, suspended for the duration of the probe.
The CPN-UML had alleged during the previous HoR that ruling parties prolonged theprobe into impeachment allegations against former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana to keep him suspended till he retired.
The committee has proposed that the impeachment motion against the president and the vice-president can be passed only when two-thirds members of both the houses - the House of Representatives and the National Assembly - pass the motion.
In the case of other constitutional post holders, the impeachment motion can be passed by two-thirds majority of the HoR.
Nembang said provisions were incorporated in the regulations to ensure that lawmakers didn't easily miss House meetings and notified the Parliament in advance when they had genuine reason to remain absent.
The panel has also proposed provisions related to the address by foreign heads of states and governments and the UN General Secretary. It has proposed that foreign heads of states and governments would be seated on the right side of the speaker's chair while ad-dressing the House. "This is to avoid any confusion on how foreign dignitaries can address the Parliament," Nembang said.
The panel has also proposed to bar lawmakers who have conflict of interest from probe panels formed by the House.
Nembang said the committee had also proposed provisions that could help conduct question-answer proceedings with the prime minister and ministers effectively.
Spokesperson for Parliament Secretariat Ekram Giri said proposals put forth by the Regulations Drafting Committee were still being debated and would be finalised only when the HoR passed it with simple majority. Before the House takes a call on the draft regulations, lawmakers will be given a chance to register amendments to the proposals.
The committee is expected to finalise the draft in the next two days.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 9, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
