House Advances Bills as Lawmakers Challenge Government on Ordinances

Nepal's House of Representatives moved forward on legislation to safeguard healthcare workers and broaden social security rules as it prepared to end its summer sitting, even as lawmakers raised alarms over potential rule by executive decree and repeated absences during zero hour.

During deliberations earlier this week, the lower house unanimously endorsed a proposal to consider an amendment to laws relating to women, children, gender and sexual minorities, and social security, The Rising Nepal reported. Minister Sita Badi explained that the revision was required to align legal frameworks following the ministry's renaming and its expanded portfolio over social welfare programs. Lawmakers debating the measure called for preserving security allowances for single women, citizens with disabilities, and vulnerable groups.

In the same sitting, members of parliament also granted unanimous initial approval to the Second Amendment Bill on the Security of Health Workers and Health Institutions, according to The Rising Nepal. Health and Food Safety Minister Nisha Mehta stated that the measure seeks to establish stringent legal protections to halt violence against doctors and medical staff, while lawmakers argued that hospitals must address patient grievances without permitting attacks on personnel.

However, tensions surfaced over pending core legislation. As Onlinekhabar English reported, lawmakers questioned why the Federal Civil Service Bill has yet to reach the floor, despite the administration listing it under its 100-point agenda and pledging an introduction within 45 days. Representatives from both the Nepali Communist Party and CPN (UML) warned that the executive branch might prorogue the session and enforce the civil service rules through an ordinance instead of parliamentary consensus.

Lawmaker Pushparaj Kandel of the CPN (UML) also criticised the government over an ordinance issued on May 2 that removed 1,534 public officials across 110 laws, Onlinekhabar English reported. Kandel accused the ruling coalition of partisan maneuvering, pointing out that ministers have now tabled legislation to reinstate clauses in 85 of those statutes while vacant positions remain unfulfilled.

Internal parliamentary discipline also drew scrutiny. Onlinekhabar English detailed instances where lawmakers signed up to speak during zero hour but failed to appear when called to the podium. Speaker Dev Prasad Aryal had to call out names three times without response, notably for Rastriya Swatantra Party legislators Dharma Raj KC, Pukar Bam, and Jagadish Kharel representing Dolakha. Under parliamentary regulations, the Speaker moves the agenda forward after three unanswered calls, discarding allotted time that otherwise obligates ministers to submit responses within a week.