Ruling party lawmaker criticizes govt decision to issue ordinances

KATHMANDU: A lawmaker from the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has criticized the government’s decision to issue two ordinances.

Member of the House of Representatives from Morang, Ganesh Karki, said it was hardly an act of courage for a government with a near two-thirds majority to bypass parliament and resort to ordinances.

“Whether it is a ‘compulsion’ or something else that forces a party with nearly a two-thirds majority to halt parliament session and bring an ordinance will be revealed later, but this is certainly not an act of bravery,” Karki wrote in a social media post. “An ordinance is always issued by exercising the rights and procedures provided by the constitution; however, this time too, the recommendation for the ordinance is based on the literal text of the constitution, not its spirit. The Constitution is not a document that survives by its letters alone, but remains vibrant through the observance of its spirit. May the letters of the constitution not limit its soul.”

Karki added that the questions he had raised when opposition parties had introduced ordinances in similar circumstances in the past remain just as relevant today.

The government last week decided to postpone the summer session of parliament scheduled to convene on Thursday. On Monday, it submitted ordinances related to the Constitutional Council and cooperatives to the Office of the President for promulgation.