Kathmandu, August 21
A bill seeking to revive the provision placing Nepal’s intelligence agency under the prime minister’s office has moved forward in the National Assembly after being passed by the House of Representatives.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobita Gautam, on behalf of Prime Minister Balendra Shah, presented the Bill to Revive the Existing Provision of the Nepal Special Service Act, 1985 at the National Assembly meeting on Friday.
The bill was subjected to a theoretical discussion in the National Assembly, with lawmakers questioning why the intelligence agency, currently under the Ministry of Home Affairs, should be brought under the prime minister.
Responding to the lawmakers, Minister Gautam said the provision placing the intelligence agency under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers had been introduced through the Some Nepal Acts Amendment Act 2019.
She said the intelligence agency had been under the prime minister’s office at that time but was brought under the Ministry of Home Affairs during the government led by former chief justice Sushila Karki following the Gen Z movement.
Gautam said the government had introduced the latest bill because a replacement bill was not brought after the election and the provision amended through an ordinance had subsequently become inactive.
Asked why the intelligence agency had been moved between the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office at different times, Gautam said the issue was essentially a matter of principle.
“Previous governments also kept moving it from one place to another,” she said.
She said the government currently believes that it is appropriate for an intelligence agency dealing with national security to remain under the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to Gautam, the Ministry of Home Affairs is already heavily burdened with responsibility for the country’s internal security mechanisms, including disaster management, chief district officers, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force.
“The Home Ministry is already overloaded. It has to deal with all aspects of the internal security mechanism, from disasters and chief district officers to Nepal Police and Armed Police,” she said.
Gautam said the intelligence agency needs to provide regular information and intelligence to the government, while the home minister is already occupied with numerous responsibilities.
She argued that intelligence information related to regular law and order and national security should be directly available to the prime minister, who is the head of government.
“The Home Ministry is extremely overloaded, while intelligence goes beyond the regular internal security and law-and-order responsibilities. We are bringing the agency under the Prime Minister’s Office so that intelligence information can be directly delivered to the prime minister,” she said.
Gautam said it would be appropriate for the prime minister, as head of government, to receive such information directly.
Following the minister’s response, the National Assembly approved a proposal to consider the bill.
Lawmakers can now register amendment proposals on the bill within 72 hours.
