Kathmandu, Mar 7: “I believe that the National Assembly (NA), the upper house of the Federal Parliament, is a place for more experienced members. The leaders who have been tested in Nepali politics are present in the NA. Since the Upper House represents all ethnic groups and communities, it is safe to say that there is a certain degree of maturity,” said NA member Urmila Aryal.
Talking to RSS, she said that looking at the state of constitution implementation, all political parties’ leaders came together to promulgate the national charter. “However, there is lack of enthusiasm among the political parties and leaders to implement it. It is evident that the constitution is promulgated through an enduring struggle of political parties.”
I had the opportunity to serve the people twice as a minister. I also have discharged my duty once as the Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly (NA). I have worked in the best interest of people in this capacity.
Three years have passed since I have been assuming the role of NA member. The constitution guarantees the rights of all ethnic communities and nationalities.
There is a tendency among lawmakers to remain oblivious of their primary responsibility of formulating legislation once they come to power, although prior to coming to power, they seem to be fully aware of their responsibilities.
This, however, does not mean that the constitution was not enforced at all in the last nine years. Its implementation is not up to the mark. Not all legislations under the fundamental rights have been framed. Parliament is a place to voice the issues of people. People’s concerns are raised with priority by the parliaments. It seems that the more parliamentarians raise voice on public concerns, the less government implements them.
Regarding constitution amendment, the constitution should be revised based on the suggestions of the public and on the consensus of all political parties rather than majority and minority.
The changes in the constitution should not be considered in favor of any single party rather it should be considered based on the public’s sentiments. No one’s rights should be curtailed in the name of constitution amendment. Amendment should be made with a long-term vision and in favor of public rather than for the immediate benefit.
It’s not that there is no representation of women in the State apparatus at present. Nepali women have held key positions such as President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chief Justice, Chief Secretary and NA Chairperson as well as ministers. But it is not sufficient for women. Women should also hold country’s main executive position.
In the political landscape of Nepal, a single man have assumed the post of Prime Minister for four five times. They have been in party’s leadership position for a lifetime. This is a wrong culture and tendency. There should be a provision that the same person cannot serve as a Prime Minister for more than two times. Similarly, no one should be allowed to hold the reign of party leadership for more than two times.
The youths of the country have not been able to lead the country yet. It seems that only elderly leaders are running the country. Now the youths should be given an opportunity to lead. Currently, women are limited to proportional representation only. They are capable of contesting election directly. A fully proportional representation system should be implemented for women. NA member Aryal stressed the need of making province and local governments more autonomous to strengthen federalism, adding problems have surfaced in implementation of federalism due to unstable government.
“No government has paid attention to create employment in the country. The government has to bring youth-friendly programme to stop brain drain of youth. Most of the factories and industries have remained closed,” she shared. She pointed out the need of changing election system as our election system is very expensive. Talking about the education system of the country, the NA member argued that education system should be made production-oriented and attention should be paid to improve the quality of education.
On the other hand, Aryal said lack of stable government has adversely impacted the country’s development. “Women are still facing various types of violence. I have been raising voices in the parliament about the multitude of cases of sexual harassment against women. I will play role to end all types of violence against women,” added Aryal.
The NA member argued, “The country’s system has changed but the situation of people has not changed. Now, my role will be for changing the situation of the people. There is problem in their livelihood.”
[Standing Committee member of the CPN (Maoist Centre), Urmila Aryal, is also the chief of party’s Department of Local Bodies. She had started her political career since 2028 BS. She was former Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly. Aryal had served as a minister for twice as well as elected a member of House of Representatives in 2056 BS.]
