In today's meeting of the House of Representatives, State System and Good Governance Committee, the theoretical discussion on the bill to amend and unify the laws related to the formation and operation of Nepal Special Service has started. Taking part in the discussion, the MLAs pointed out the need to pay special attention to the confidentiality of the personnel working there, taking into account the scope and responsibility of the National Investigation Department. The MLAs have suggested on the occasion to keep the department under the Ministry of Home Affairs to make it effective.
Committee member Gagan Kumar Thapa opined that among the various security agencies, only the National Investigation Department should be taken out of the House and placed under the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Member Vrijesh Kumar Gupta said, "How can intelligence be maintained by the tendency of the people working in agencies that have to collect information secretly to advertise themselves!" Another member, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, said that according to our tradition and practice, the functioning of the department should be kept under the Ministry of Home Affairs instead of under the Prime Minister's Office to make it agile and predictable. Member Lal Babu Pandit said that the wrong trend of hiring employees on the orders and instructions of someone in the department which is responsible for the important security of the state should be stopped and appointments should be made on the basis of expertise.
The department has been collecting information, analyzing and suggesting opinions to the government regarding the protection and promotion of the country's freedom, sovereignty, geographical integrity, national security, national interest and national independence and maintaining peace and order. A few years ago, when the government decided to place it under the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, there were criticisms from various angles about that decision. The amendment on the bill suggested that it is necessary to expand the scope of work so that the department is not only responsible for collecting information but also works in the area of crime investigation.
In the bill, a special provision is proposed regarding the ability of the department to monitor, monitor and record the conversations, audio, visual or electronic signals or details made by public media or other means from suspected or under surveillance persons, organizations in the context of information gathering and counter-espionage activities.
READ ALSO: