Secretariat readies agenda for first Assembly meeting

KATHMANDU, JAN 20 -
The Constituent Assembly Secretariat has prepared three agendas for the first meeting of the CA to be held on January 22.

A meeting of the 30 parties elected to the CA was convened on Sunday by the secretariat to discuss the agenda for the first meeting.

As per the schedule, a letter from the Interim Election Government Chairman to the Assembly would be read out first. The CA business will be run as per the CA Regulations (2065) as the new rules are yet to be prepared. A proposal will be presented to the CA for picking a member to preside over meetings until the CA chairperson is elected.

A proposal to form a committee to draft the new CA regulations could also be tabled in the meeting. The agenda was floated by the CPN-UML in Sunday’s meeting. It was, however, not clear whether thanksgiving to the government and the people for the election would be a separate agenda or incorporated in another.

“The meeting is unlikely to take any historical decision as was the case in 2008,” said Sadbhawana Party Co-chairman Laxman Lal Karna. The first meeting of the CA in 2008 declared the nation as a republic, abolishing the institution of monarchy.

Sunday’s meeting, however, failed to incorporate the much anticipated agenda of owing up the work of the last CA as new lawmakers sought time to study them. Also, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, the fourth largest force in the CA , rejected outright the proposal to own up the achievements of the erstwhile CA , including secularism and federalism. All the major parties except the RPP-Nepal have agreed to take ownership of the proceedings of the first CA .

Since the new lawmakers need time to study the work of the last CA , the agenda of owing up its work did not make it to the final agenda, said UML leader Bhim Acharya. The meeting also did not agree on incorporating the agenda of promulgating the constitution within a year. The agenda was floated by the Nepali Congress. Smaller parties such as the CPN-ML were sceptical of the plan arguing that it would fail without a concrete framework. “The CA is yet to finalise the new regulations and elect the chairperson, which is part of the larger deal among the major parties. Thus we could not make the proposal an agenda of the meeting,” said CPN-ML Chairman CP Mainali. Prior to the election, major parties pledged to bring out the statue within a year.

Prez to administer oath to Thapa today

KATHMANDU: President Ram Baran Yadav will administer the oath of office and secrecy to seniormost lawmaker Surya Bahadur Thapa on Monday. Thapa will chair the Constituent Assembly until the CA gets its chairperson and vice-chairperson.

The Interim Constitution provisions that the head of state administers the oath to the seniormost lawmaker who conducts the CA affairs until the CA chairperson and vice-chairperson are elected. Former Prime Minister and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Thapa (85) is the oldest member of the CA .

CA Secretariat spoke-sman Mukunda Sharma said Thapa will take the oath from President Yadav on Monday morning. On Tuesday afternoon, Thapa will swear in the rest of the lawmakers. The secretariat has notified all the 574 CA members to attend the ceremony with their certificate of election. Only 575 members of the 601-strong Assembly will be present in the first meeting on Wednesday, as the government is yet to nominate 26 members.

In the first CA in 2008, seniormost lawmaker Kul Bahadur Gurung had administered the oath to other lawmakers.

Parliament to meet on Jan 26

KATHMANDU:  President Ram Baran Yadav on Sunday evening summoned the first meeting of the Legislature-Parliament on January 26.

A statement issued here by the President’s Office said the first meeting of the House would convene at 3 pm. Earlier on Sunday, the government recommended that the Office of the President summon the first meeting of the House on January 26.

Cabinet Chairman Khil Raj Regmi, Law and Parliament Affairs Minister Hari Neupane, Chief Secretary Leela Mani Poudel and Law Secretary Bhesh Raj Sharma met the President to ask him to summon the House. The CA doubles as

the Legislature-Parliament. According to Article 51 (1) of Interim Constitution, the President summons the House on the recommendation of the prime minister (now Chairman Regmi).

The decision on the meeting has been registered in the Parliament Secretariat.

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