UML Backs Down from Its Stance on Land Bill Under Congress Pressure

Kathmandu — The ruling CPN-UML has backed down from its earlier stance of passing the Land (Amendment) Bill through a “full house” debate and approval in the House of Representatives.

The UML softened its position after coalition partner Nepali Congress insisted that the bill should not be rushed and must be sent to the committee for a clause-by-clause discussion.

When the Business Advisory Committee of the House of Representatives published its fortnightly calendar up to Shrawan 15, it included the phrase that the bill “should either be sent to the committee for clause-wise discussion or discussed directly in the House.” Previously, the UML had been firm on passing it in the full house and even argued it should be approved through a fast-track process.

Rift in the Ruling Coalition

The UML stepped back after it became clear that pushing the bill through fast-track would create a rift within the ruling coalition.

The Congress had demanded that the bill, which the government was trying to pass through fast-track, must instead be sent to the relevant committee for detailed discussion.

Congress General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma had publicly stated that passing the bill through fast-track was unacceptable. Senior leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala also expressed concern on social media on Wednesday, saying suspicions had arisen after the government attempted to fast-track the land bill.

Congress Warns It Won’t Support the Bill Without Clause-wise Debate

On Tuesday, during a parliamentary party meeting with Land Management Minister Balram Adhikari, the Nepali Congress made it clear that it would not support the bill in the House if the government ignored their demand for a clause-wise discussion.

In the ongoing House session, the Business Advisory Committee met at noon and prepared the calendar until Shrawan 15, including the option of either sending the bill to the committee for clause-wise discussion or debating it directly in the House.

Government Withdraws the Bill from the Agenda

Since the Congress refused to support the government’s proposal to pass the bill without detailed debate, the bill — which had been on the agenda — was suddenly withdrawn on Asar 24. The withdrawal was described as being due to “special reasons.”

Meanwhile, the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), led by Upendra Yadav, also withdrew its support for the government, citing disagreements with some provisions of the land bill.