Kathmandu – Life across the country is crippled from the global pandemic COVID-19. The Federal Parliament’s budget session is likely to be summoned. During the time of crisis, lawmakers have raised voices to make the Federal Parliament and parliamentary committees more effective and systematic.
Against this backdrop, RSS reporters Ramesh Lamsal and Ashok Ghimire talked to Federal Parliament’s Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota on the roles of HoR and the related issues. Here is the excerpt;
Q. What roles the people’s representative body should play during the time of rising threats of COVID-19?
A. Role of Federal Parliament as the apex people’s elected body is crucial in making policies and resolving the national and international problems.
Giving high importance to its role, we already discussed the resolution motion of public importance on coronavirus in the House of Representative (HoR) meeting of the Federal Parliament. We delivered the aspiration and message of national commitment. Expecting more discussions, we worked to ensure environment conducive in the day when the House meeting was held.
Likewise, we did our best possible efforts for discussions during the zero hour, special hour and other times of the House meeting.
As the Parliament was adjourned following the pandemic of the virus, we have expressed our readiness for the role of the Parliament and to troubleshoot the problems people facing through the video messages and press statement. Appeals are made to make effective roles of the parliamentarians. Also, suggestions have been given to the government to effectively implement the announcements. Frequent talks are held with the Coordinator of the High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19.
We have told them to ensure travel pass to the parliamentarians in an accessible manner and so that it will be easier for the parliamentarians to travel to the districts after the decision from the High-Level Committee. Similarly, we have worked on our own. We have been looking for what can be the roles of people’s representatives.
In this context, I have talked to Speakers of all seven state assemblies. They have shared the situation of their respective states. Encouraging feedback have been received to work together. Currently, the House Session has ended and the budget session will begin. During this time, tasks of internal management, managing the secretariat, the ways to operate the meetings of the committees and some other could be done. Some lawmakers have gone to the districts.
But, we are thinking to conduct discussions on the bills that were already in the Committees. There are important bills on citizenship, civil service. The bills would have been passed in the Winter Session of the Federal Parliament. They could not proceed ahead due to many reasons and we have kept them in priority lists. Now, I am doing homework through the Committee Chairpersons. I am doing homework to make the Committees effective and advance the important and others bills also through time management in the budget session. We are doing homework to make a calendar of the Federal Parliament.
Maximum efforts are ongoing to make the House maximum systematic. I think all the days that we held meetings were fruitful.
Q. You talked about parliament’s calendar. What things are being included in it?
A. We had released the calendar during the time of constitution making. It’s like the same. A general calendar prevails in the budget session. But, I my proposition is for the whole year or a single session. So, the Parliamentarians even from the remote districts will have a comfortable situation to work by visiting their constituencies.
They would know that the House meeting will be held for a certain day and in a planned fashion.
Q. Do you have any plan to mobilize the people’s representatives during the time of crisis?
A. Instantly, it is moving ahead by coordinating with the government and the High-Level Committee. Talks have been held to make comfortable environment to let the parliamentarians go to the districts, make their roles more specific and mobilize them in the disaster reduction. I have been talking to Committee Chairpersons and members.
Q. Do you mean to conduct the Committee meetings during the favorable time and work to support the people during the crises?
A. Every job that the lawmakers do is formal. It is conducive to conduct the Committees’ meetings with better security management with the purpose to support the government decision. We expect such environment if possible. Also, it can be facilitated to the federal government to troubleshoot the problems and take initiatives to resolve them by joining hands with the representatives of local and state governments at a time when the meeting of the Federal Parliament was over.
Q. Are there any efforts to give concrete roles to the parliamentarians like the members of the then Constituent Assembly were mobilised to provide relief materials to the Gorkha Earthquake survivors?
A. There is a sea gap in the situation during the time of Gorkha Earthquake and now. Currently, we have to avoid crowds and maintain physical distance, which is just opposite to the time of earthquake. Since the situation is different, we have to have effective roles by applying constructive ways. People have developed psychological terror than that of the virus. Lots of rumors have surrounded and they should be cracked down. So, the key need of the time is to assure the people that victory against coronavirus is possible. Assuring the people and winning their trust is the greatest thing. The main thing that the government and people’s representatives should do is to gain the people’s trust. For this, people should be guaranteed with ideas, perspectives and physically too. This is the main task of the people’s representatives.
Q: To what extent do you think you are successful in dealing with parliamentary business after your election to the post of Speaker?
A: We are moving ahead with success. I had received enthusiastic support from Business Advisory Committee, political parties’ leadership and chief whips of the parties that helped me to smoothly take ahead the house business. The parliament session had to be postponed following COVID-19 outbreak across the nation. A message had to be imparted that norms ad values should be established from federal parliament. Mainly, good-governance should be initiated from parliament as it is the place to formulate rule and laws. We widely held discussion on every subject whether that be the proposal of public importance or other issues. We focused our attention on people’s problems in zero hour and special hour.
Q: It seems that lawmakers did not pay any attention in the parliamentary meetings as it was reflected in the low attendance of the parliame
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