Kathmandu, November 7
The government’s recent decision has led to the termination of personal secretaries assigned to lawmakers in both the federal parliament and all seven provincial assemblies.
The move, aimed at reducing government expenditure, has sparked dissatisfaction among officials of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies.
The federal parliament consists of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives, with 59 and 275 members respectively, totaling 334 lawmakers. Across the seven provinces, there are 550 provincial assembly members, bringing the combined number of lawmakers at both federal and provincial levels to 884.
The government, however, has retained the personal secretaries of the seven provincial speakers, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chairperson of the National Assembly. After excluding these eight individuals, the personal secretaries of 875 lawmakers have been removed.
In Sudurpaschim Province, however, political parties have reached an all-party agreement to retain the personal secretaries of provincial assembly members. It remains uncertain whether this decision will have legal recognition.
Meanwhile, officials of the federal parliament and all seven provincial assemblies have decided to increase pressure on the government. On November 4, the office bearers of the federal parliament expressed their dissatisfaction directly to Prime Minister Sushila Karki.
During the meeting, they urged the Prime Minister to reconsider the decision. Among those present at the Baluwatar meeting were Speaker of the House of Representatives Dev Raj Ghimire, Deputy Speaker Indira Rana, National Assembly Chairperson Narayan Dahal, National Assembly Vice-Chairperson Bimala Ghimire, Federal Parliament Secretary-General Padma Prasad Pandey, and secretaries Harka Raj Rai and Rojanath Pandey.
Recalling the discussion at Baluwatar, Speaker Ghimire said, “Even the personal secretaries of lawmakers have been removed. What is being done in the name of austerity is wrong. This is an attack on parliament itself.”
He further remarked that the current government’s actions were concerning. “Although this government’s term ends on March 4, the decision it has made will negatively influence the next government,” he said. “We object to this.”
Despite their repeated calls for revision, the government has not reversed the decision. Consequently, federal and provincial assembly officials convened a formal meeting on Friday to decide on further steps.
The meeting is being held at the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee Hall in Singha Durbar, where officials are discussing the government’s move to cut administrative staff benefits under the pretext of administrative reform.
The government made the change by amending the schedule of the Federal Parliament Officials and Members’ Remuneration and Facilities Act, 2016, thereby revoking the personal secretaries assigned to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly.
