The fate of suspended CJ Rana remains uncertain as he is to retire in December
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari prorogued the current session of both the Houses of Parliament from Saturday midnight, bringing also to an end the five-year term of the first elected House of Representatives (HoR) after the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015. During the current session, the HoR ran its business for 251 hours in 124 days, Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota informed the Lower House on Saturday. The House had conducted 68 meetings on 58 days and passed 30 bills, including the Citizenship Bill. With the prorogation of the ongoing session, the five-year term of the provincial assemblies of all the seven provinces, whose elections were held simultaneously with the federal elections, has also ended.
Although the constitution and the laws are not clear about the start and finish of the term of the HoR, the Election Commission has said that the tenure of the current HoR should end a day before the submission by the parties of the proportional representation list.
The parties have till Monday to submit the list. Some political parties and lawyers, however, insist that the tenure of the HoR has ended five months earlier, as itsfirst meeting was held on March 5, 2018, although the federal elections were held on November 26 and December 7.
The near two-thirds majority that the Nepal Communist Party enjoyed in the House should have made the first tenure after the new constitution just ideal for the practice of parliamentary democracy.
However, it is most unfortunate that squabbling among the senior leaders of the party led to the dissolution of the House not once but twice by then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli before being reinstated by the Supreme Court on July 12 last year. The reinstatement that landed Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress in the prime minister's post, however, created much hullabaloo after it came to light that the Supreme Court verdict had been influenced by assurances by the Nepali Congress to include the brother-in-law of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana in the cabinet.
The House business after the coalition government under Deuba took over in July last year could not be held for a long period of time due to constant obstruction by the CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist).
The passage of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact, the Citizenship Bill and the impeachment motion against Supreme Court Chief Justice Rana invited a lot of controversy. The President has refused to authenticate the Citizenship bill - which was endorsed by the parliament without any debate on it - although it has been sent to Shital Niwas for the second time. The fate of suspended CJ Rana remains uncertain, as he is expected to retire in December before the first session of the new parliament sits, although the Impeachment Recommendation Committee has recommended impeaching him. The constitution or the laws are not clear on whether an impeachment motion can be taken forward in the new House, while Rana has insisted on returning to work in the apex court despite opposition from the two bar associations. With the federal polls slated for November 20, we can only hope that the functioning of the new parliament will be more mature and effective.
Tragic deaths
At least 21 people were confirmed killed while two others were still missing in separate landslides in Achham district. The tragic incidents have taken place when this year's monsoon is closing to an end and the Dashan festival is just round the corner. Among those killed in the landslide include five members of the same family in Kamal Bazaar Municipality-8. The landslides also swept away houses in Turmakhand and Dhakari Rural Municipality.
This year's monsoon, which was forecast to be more active in the western part of the country, arrived late after a gap of about three weeks, hampering paddy plantation. Whatever paddy the farmers have planted has also wilted due to the prolonged drought. As a result of erratic rainfall, this year will witness less rice production, which will force the government to import more rice from other countries. At the same time, the government must provide relief assistance to the bereaved family members of those killed in the landslides and also provide assistance to build their houses destroyed by the natural disaster.
The government should also come up with a strategy to resettle the people displaced from the natural disasters. Many people are displaced or killed in landslides in the hilly areas.
