Kathmandu, September 30
Prime Minister Balendra Shah held a two-hour discussion with lawmakers from engineering backgrounds.
On Wednesday afternoon, Shah discussed issues raised in Parliament with them and reviewed them.
Seventeen MPs attended the discussion, held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Nepali Congress MP Mohan Acharya of Rasuwa was present, while the rest were RSP lawmakers.
The Prime Minister’s Office said MPs with engineering backgrounds were not invited from UML or the Nepali Communist Party, since those parties have no such lawmakers.
The discussion ran from noon to 2:15 pm. MPs first spoke about the situation following the floods and landslides, after which PM Shah addressed the group.
Shah went on to classify lawmakers into three categories based on how they express themselves: average, below average, and extraordinary, describing which type of MP tends to raise which kind of issue.
Shah described MPs with engineering backgrounds as “extraordinary.” One MP told Onlinekhabar that the Prime Minister said ordinary people talk about events, those below average tell him what to do, and since engineers are extraordinary, they should be raising ideas and creativity, adding that their ideas are what will build the country.
During the discussion, Shah asked the engineering-background MPs to contribute ideas on industrialisation. He said the concerned ministries, ministers, and the Prime Minister’s Office are following up on issues raised in Parliament, and assured the MPs they could contact the Prime Minister’s Office directly with any idea and would be given easy access to meet.
Shah also noted that new bills are forthcoming and said MPs’ input would be reflected in them, based on what they have seen and experienced, and asked for their support and cooperation.
RSP MP Dr Ram Lama confirmed the meeting with the Prime Minister, saying Shah discussed with engineering-background MPs and gathered their experience and ideas.
Lama said he told the Prime Minister that Nepal’s existing laws need reform for the country’s development, citing the need for a forest-related law and supportive legislation for major development projects, as well as programs that would increase electricity consumption. He said Shah responded that the government is conscious of this and committed to moving ahead accordingly. He further said that government policy is focused more on increasing power consumption than on selling electricity.
Shah also told the MPs the government is moving forward on opening a chemical fertiliser factory in Nepal. Lama quoted Shah as saying the government would soon call for proposals to open the factory, and that necessary facilities would be provided for such projects and programs, including the fertiliser factory and those aimed at increasing power consumption.
