Karnali Province Parliamentary Committees Inactive Due to Government Changes

Surkhet. The direct impact of frequent government changes in Karnali Province has been felt in the parliamentary committees of the provincial assembly. Due to the frequently changing power equations, parliamentary committees have become either vacant or incomplete, raising serious questions about their effectiveness. After July 28, with the formation of a new coalition between the Nepali Communist Party and the CPN-UML, the Province Affairs Committee has been left without a chairperson. The position became vacant after committee chairperson Kalyani Khadka became the Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest, and Environment on August 27. She had become the chairperson of this committee on May 28, 2023, initially as part of the Unified Socialist Party and later joining the Communist Party of Nepal formed by the merger with the Maoists, she continued in that role. However, after becoming a minister, the committee leadership became vacant. Meanwhile, uncertainty also remains regarding the leadership of the Public Accounts Committee. Although parliamentary tradition dictates that this committee is given to the opposition, parties have shown no interest in selecting a new chairperson. Currently, Bindaman Bisht, a Member of Parliament from the Nepali Communist Party, is the chairperson of this committee. Previously, the chairperson was Jیتbahadur Mall of the CPN-UML, but he resigned immediately after the coalition between the CPN-UML and the Congress was formed. Even though two months have passed since the formation of the new government, Bisht, who is currently with the ruling party, has not resigned. He was sidelined at the last moment due to factional politics, despite being in the race to become a minister. Only two of the four committees in the provincial assembly have leadership. Purnabahadur Khatri of the Nepali Congress is the chairperson of the Social Development Committee, and Dakshina Shahi of the CPN-UML is the chairperson of the Finance and Natural Resources Committee. However, some committees are incomplete due to a shortage of members. The Nepali Congress has sent a letter to the Provincial Assembly Secretariat to send former minister Ghanshyam Bhandari to the Social Development Committee, Rajib Bikram Shah to the Finance and Natural Resources Committee, and Bijaya Buda and Suresh Adhikari to the Province Affairs Committee. However, according to information officer Rajendra Poudel of the Secretariat, these names are yet to be approved by the assembly as the session was adjourned without holding any meetings after August 31. Not only the parliamentary committees but also the parties have delayed in distributing responsibilities within the parliamentary party. The ruling coalition partner CPN-UML has not yet appointed a chief whip. The position has been vacant since Tekraj Pachhai, who was the chief whip, became the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning. An MP from the CPN-UML says that there has been no significant discussion within the party regarding the selection of a new whip, and this matter depends on the discretion of leader Yamlal Kandel. Due to the lack of leadership and the incompleteness of the committees, their activities have come to a standstill. The last meeting of the Finance and Natural Resources Committee was held on August 27 and 28, and the Province Affairs Committee meeting was held on August 19. Apart from these, other committee activities in August and July were almost nil. A provincial assembly official, commenting on the ineffectiveness of the parliamentary committees, which are supposed to monitor the government's activities, said, 'Parliamentary committees are supposed to be active and monitor the government's activities, but the parliamentary committees here are not very dynamic at all.'