Lawmakers draw govt attention to contemporary issues

Lawmakers from different political parties drew the government's attention to contemporary issues, such as shortage of chemical fertilizers, rise in the price of petroleum products and monsoon-triggered disasters, among others.

Speaking in the special hour of the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday, they asked the government to take forward a bill relating to citizenship and prioritize disaster risk management,

Pramod Shah complained that the government was turning a deaf ear to forward the bill related to citizenship despite the parliamentarians' repeated demand for it. He demanded to make public the report of the Lal Commission at the earliest.

Rangamati Shah also demanded that the bill relating to citizenship be taken forward at the earliest.

Similarly, Durga Pokharel spoke of the need for the government to take concrete steps to enable voting provisions for the Nepalis abroad in the upcoming election. She also appealed to the government through the Speaker of the HoR to formulate laws for the same.

Likewise, Binda Pandey expressed her concern about the lax implementation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Nepal.

Sitaram Mahato shared that there were 54,000 hectares of arable land in the Sunsari district but in a lack of fertilizers, the farmers could not cultivate it. He demanded the earliest arrangement of fertilizers.

Dev Prasad Gurung lamented that although 16 years had elapsed since the Comprehensive Peace Accord, the conflict-era victims were yet to get justice. He informed that the tenure of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was coming to an end and demanded resolution for justice delivery through national consensus.

Gokul Prasad Banskota expressed his qualm for assigning a foreign company for cricket management without calling a tender. He demanded that the Sports Minister clearly explained before the parliament on this matter.

Bidya Bhattarai demanded effective post-disaster rescue, relief and resettlement operations of those at risk and affected by incessant rain-triggered disasters in Pokhara, such as inundation, flood and landslide.

Rajendra Prasad Gautam demanded increasing domestic consumption of electricity and attraction of foreign investment in the energy sector.

Lal Prasad Limbu asserted that the price of petroleum products had skyrocketed lately and those hardest hit were labourers, teachers, civil employees and middle-class families. He also demanded reforms at the policy level to improve the stock market.