Retiring National Assembly Members Reflect on Achievements and Challenges in Parliament

Kathmandu. Members of the National Assembly whose terms are ending shared information about the work they accomplished and the experiences they gained during this tenure. In today's meeting of the National Assembly, they stated that they had established some good traditions and standards in the course of their work in the assembly.

In the meeting, Beduram Bhusal, a member from the Communist Party of Nepal, stated that the National Assembly is an assembly of the wise and has been working accordingly. He mentioned that the assembly failed to drive social and cultural transformation, and could not raise the voice for corruption control and job creation. He noted that he could not participate effectively during the Corona period, due to obstructions from various parties, and during the time he held a ministerial post.

He shared his experience of working in the Legislation Management Committee and playing an important role in lawmaking. Member Bhusal stated that he worked on preparing reports for laws yet to be enacted according to the constitution, and expressed his views and comments on resolution proposals in regular meetings. Stating that the assembly established some standards in the enactment of important laws, he pointed out the need to break away from the somewhat traditional framework still present in lawmaking.

Indiradevi Gautam, a member from CPN (UML), shared her experience of participating effectively in the regular meetings of the assembly, participating in passing amendments to bills, and playing a role in amending laws and lawmaking by keeping the spirit of the constitution at the center. She also stated that she did important work while serving on the committee for strengthening federalism, and made the government accountable by raising issues concerning lawmaking and people's livelihood.

Member Gautam stated that she played an important role in addressing the disparities seen in development construction, and that establishing a tradition of consensus in the assembly despite various differences was a positive aspect. During this period, she mentioned that the directives and resolution proposals of the assembly were not implemented, and suggested that monitoring should be made more effective as the directives and suggestions from the meetings were not being implemented.

She mentioned the need to establish good governance and end corruption to address the dissatisfaction of the youth seen in the Janta Andolan (People's Movement) on Bhadra 23 and 24, and noted that everyone should think about how the destructive act of Bhadra 24 occurred. Furthermore, she emphasized that everyone should work to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.

She also noted that the assembly meetings were sometimes preoccupied with accusations and counter-accusations, and suggested that laws should be made according to the needs of the country and the people, and the spirit of the constitution.

Maya Prasad Sharma, a member from the Communist Party of Nepal, stated that although he could not work as expected during this period, he succeeded in establishing a good precedent in the assembly. He said that he played a role in lawmaking above party influence, with consensus and timely operation of meetings. Member Sharma informed that a positive step taken during this period was conducting meetings in a way that allowed for programs to be taken to constituencies simultaneously across all provinces, and that the resolution proposal regarding the study of federal implementation was passed.

He shared that he also performed important work as the chairman of the Committee on Public Policy and Delegated Legislation at various times during this tenure, noting that 175 assembly meetings were held, but there was never a situation where the meeting could not convene due to a lack of quorum.

He informed the meeting that he conducted studies and on-site investigations of issues of national importance and archaeological matters, and also held discussions and interactions with some provincial assemblies and local levels. Furthermore, Member Sharma informed the meeting that he played a constructive role in good governance.