Khmandu, Oct 26: This Dashain was the first one for lawmaker Sunita Baral as a member in the House of Representatives. Until last year, during the festival celebrations she was regarded and treated as a ‘daughter’ and ‘sister’ in her community. However, this time, she as a legislator, actively participated in both personal conversations and engaged in discussions on political matters and development affairs during the festival gatherings.
She became increasingly aware of the public’s concerns regarding national politics. Queries from citizens such as ‘Why is the nation’s politics in this state?’ and ‘What will be the future course of politics?’ made her realize her greater responsibility as a lawmaker.
Baral, who holds a master’s degree in law and represents the CPN (UML) under the proportional system in the lower house is fully aware of her legislative roles and responsibilities. However, she is dissatisfied with the functioning of the House. She said, “It is the government’s role to propose legislation and make the House dynamic. However, this aspect is lacking. On one hand, the government has failed to allocate sufficient business to the House, and on the other hand, our efforts to exert pressure on the government for more business allocation are insufficient. Our warnings are not sufficient and effective.”
According to her, in some cases, the House faces obstruction because some ‘legitimate’ demands are ignored by the government. The government holds the primary responsibility for enacting laws and should address the legitimate concerns of the opposition in a timely and appropriate manner to prevent obstructions.
Regarding her understanding that lawmakers’ concerns in the House are not adequately addressed by the government. “This culture does not reflect the government’s accountability to the citizens in a democratic system. The government is expected to be accountable to the sovereign parliament, but this aspect is missing. It seems that lawmakers are merely using the parliamentary forum to raise concerns for the record and personal satisfaction, and this needs to change.”
Acknowledging that lawmakers are still compelled to visit ministries to seek development plans for their respective constituencies, she said that people believe their representatives should act as development facilitators for their areas. “Failing to contribute to development initiatives in their electoral constituencies makes it challenging to gain the people’s trust in the next election. It’s essential to inform citizens that local governments primarily carry out community development activities.”
Baral, who previously served as the President of All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) close to the CPN (UML), said that education was her priority when raising concerns in Parliament.
She has presented an amendment proposal over the School Education Bill-2080 BS, seeking the structural reforms, increase in investments, quality enhancement and the implementation of federalism in the education sector.
In her response to a query about the model for an enforcement of agreements reached with the Nepal Teacher’s Federation regarding the Bill, she said the document should be further revised by assimilating the federalism and recognizing the constitutional jurisdictions of the local governments. RSS
