The parties must find a way out of the quandary as they did for the ratification of the MCC compact
It's been weeks since an impeachment motion was registered against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana at the Federal Parliament, but the House of Representatives (HoR) has not been able to initiate a debate on it, much less form an inquiry committee to look into the 21-point charges labelled against Rana.
On February 13, 98 lawmakers from the ruling Nepali Congress Party, CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist had registered the impeachment motion, accusing Rana of failing to maintain the sanctity of the Judiciary and seeking to share power with the executive in exchange for the verdict favouring the reinstatement of the dissolved HoR in July last year.
Following the registration of the impeachment motion in the parliament, the chief justice has been suspended from office. A debate on the impeachment motion should have started after seven days of its filing at the parliament secretariat. According to the constitution, an 11-member inquiry committee, comprising members from more than one party, including the opposition, must duly be formed to study the impeachment motion and submit a report within three months. Unfortunately, nothing has happened.
The government is now seeking to initiate debate on the issue in the next meeting of the HoR scheduled for March 6, after Wednesday's meeting could not be held due to obstruction by lawmakers from the opposition, the CPN (UML). The UML has been obstructing the House proceedings accusing Speaker Agni Sapkota of being bias in not confirming the expulsion of 14 UML lawmakers, including Madhav Kumar Nepal, who are now members of a new party, the CPN-Unified Socialist.
The UML thus wants the Speaker to resign before the House can sit.
The motion against CJ Rana is said to have been registered in the parliament with the ulterior motive of thwarting, among others, a hearing on the 14 lawmakers expelled by the UML in the House, which was due on February 13. Other motives for filing the impeachment motion include passing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact from the parliament, which it did on Sunday following lengthy parleys among the parties, and acquitting Speaker Sapkota of a murder charge.
With the parliament unable to move the motion against Rana forward for weeks now, it is doing gross injustice to him. Either the parliament should impeach him or clear him of the charges. However, without the participation of the UML, the 271-member House cannot garner the two-thirds majority needed to impeach Rana. Moreover, the UML has been hinting at registering an impeachment motion against four other justices of the apex court who had issued the mandamus order telling the President to appoint NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister on July 12. In the event of such a scenario, the four justices, including acting Justice Deepak Karki who now heads the Supreme Court, will also be suspended, creating an unprecedented leadership vacuum in the Judiciary. It is not good to keep the parliament hostage to the whims and vested interests of the parties and leaders for long. Rather than engage in the blame game, the parties must find a way out of the quandary as they did for the ratification of the MCC compact this week.
Cancer cure policy
Women of Gandaki Province suffering from cancers of the reproductive organs will get an additional Rs 50,000 for their medical treatment. The women from the province are entitled to this facility after spending Rs 100,000 provided by the federal government for the treatment of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and cervical cancer. A MoUto this effect has been signed between Gandaki Province government and the BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital in Chitwan. This facility would be available only to those women permanently residing in the province.
This facility is being introduced in line with the health care policy of the provincial government.
Many women in Nepal suffer mostly from three types of cancers related to the reproductive organs. This facility will be of great help to those women from poor families who otherwise cannot avail themselves of timely health care services as it incurs huge amounts of money for the treatment. Timely treatment of the cancers of the reproductive organs can save the lives of thousands of women. However, the women themselves should be aware of their health condition before it is too late. Other provinces can also introduce this policy to save women from cancer.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 4, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
