The democratic system is sure to fail if those in the vital organs of the state do not abide by the rule of law
When leaders of the coalition partners of the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government met last week following the passage of the controversial MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) compact, they discussed the possibility of dissolving the House of Representatives (HoR) before its five-year tenure expires in November, citing the main opposition, CPN- UML's continued House obstruction. The UML has been obstructing the House proceedings for the last six months, demanding that Speaker Agni Sapkota confirm the expulsion of 14 lawmakers, including Madhav Kumar Nepal, the leader of the CPN-Unified Socialist, as the UML had earlier taken disciplinary action against them. The coalition partners, especially PM Deuba, have tried their best to convince the UML leaders to end their months-long House obstruction, but to no avail. After their efforts to convince the UML to end the House obstruction failed, the coalition partners discussed the possibility of dissolving the HoR and call fresh elections well before November. However, PM Deuba has not made up his mind in this regard, probably taking into account the Supreme Court's July 12 verdict, which has stated that the HoR should complete its full term.
Despite the UML's continued House obstructions, the federal parliament has passed bills such as the Replacement bill on the budget and the MCC treaty with the US. But other crucial bills, including the Bill on Citizenship and the bills on Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Nepal Air Service Authority (NASA), both of which were passed by the National Assembly and sent back to the HoR, have been stalled due to the obstruction in the House. Nepal's airlines have been banned from flying in the skies of the European Union since 2013, citing poor airworthiness.
The EU has asked Nepal to bifurcate CAAN into two separate entities – one to investigate air accidents and the other to provide regulatory services.
Failure to pass the citizenship bill, over half-a-million people born to those who had obtained Nepali citizenship certificates by birth have also been denied their right to obtain citizenship by descent.
Speaker Sapkota's double standard has forced the UML to obstruct the House for such a long time.
When the CPN-Maoist Centre's parliamentary party decided to expel four lawmakers of the federal parliament, he quickly pasted a notice to this effect, but did not follow the very rule when it came to the UML's expulsion of its 14 lawmakers, allowing them to form a new political outfit through an ordinance, stating that 20 per cent of the lawmakers and the central committee members of the party can break up a party.
The parliamentary rules should be applied equally to all the political parties. When the Speaker fails to play an impartial role, it is difficult to run the House smoothly. At the same time, the Supreme Court has also delayed in giving its verdict on a writ petition filed by the UML against the said 14 lawmakers. It is said that the political parties in power filed an impeachment motion in the parliament against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana to prevent him from giving a verdict against the lawmakers. The democratic system is sure to fail if those in the vital organs of the state do not abide by the rule of law.
Beware of scammers
With a sudden rise in incidents of hacking and unauthorised access to social-media accounts by scammers, the Ministry of Home Affairs has appealed to all internet users to be on the alert. Fraudsters having been tempting internet users through the social media with online lottery, free gifts and foreign employment schemes to trick or cheat unsuspecting people into giving personal details and confidential bank accounts. Gullible persons have been lured into transferring cash into scammers' bank accounts or been blackmailed or become a victim of extortion, only to realise when it is too late.
Just a decade back, it was not uncommon to receive a mail from a 'high-ranking official' in some African country who wanted to transfer some of the state's embezzled funds into your account to evade arrest. Quite a few Nepalis had fallen for it and lost millions of rupees due to the scam. But people never learn, and it is easy to trick people today just as it was in the past. The best way to stay safe is not to entertain any calls or messages on the social media. Internet users must become instantly suspicious should they receive mail requesting bank account details, citizenship certificate number and the like.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.