Kathmandu, August 18
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has introduced a Google Form to monitor and document the activities and attendance of its lawmakers in Parliament.
According to RSP Whip Krantishikha Dhital, the form has been created to systematically record MPs’ attendance and reasons for being absent or leaving parliamentary meetings.
Under the new arrangement, MPs who cannot attend a parliamentary meeting must fill out the form and upload evidence explaining the reason for their absence.
The requirement also applies to MPs who arrive more than 30 minutes late, leave a meeting midway after attending, or leave the parliamentary premises during a meeting and later return.
RSP Chief Whip Kabindra Burlakoti said MPs must provide their name, constituency, contact number, reason for absence and reason for leaving a meeting midway through the form.
MPs who are absent because of illness must provide details of where they are receiving treatment.
Similarly, MPs travelling to their constituencies must submit a schedule showing their departure and return. Those attending formal invitations or programmes abroad must also provide details of the event.
For overseas programmes, MPs will have to submit information about the organising institution and the programme, along with the approval letter obtained from the relevant authority.
According to RSP leaders, the main purpose of the Google Form is to make MPs more accountable for their presence in Parliament.
The party plans to maintain a consolidated record covering MPs who fail to attend meetings, arrive late, leave meetings midway or leave the parliamentary premises and return.
RSP leaders say parliamentary attendance should not be treated merely as a matter of marking presence, but as part of an MP’s responsibility and accountability.
Move follows failure to meet quorum
The RSP’s decision comes against the backdrop of a recent parliamentary meeting that had to be postponed after failing to meet the required quorum.
On August 11, a meeting of the House of Representatives was adjourned after the required number of lawmakers was not present. The failure also halted the process of advancing government legislation.
The RSP has 182 lawmakers in the House of Representatives, making it the largest force in Parliament. As the ruling party, it carries a major responsibility for ensuring that parliamentary business proceeds smoothly.
However, during the August 11 meeting, even the required 69 lawmakers needed to table the proposal for a decision on the Mines-related Bill were not present.
It was against this backdrop that the RSP moved to introduce a formal system for monitoring its lawmakers’ parliamentary attendance and movements.
According to Chief Whip Burlakoti, MPs have been instructed to submit a parliamentary absence application form under four circumstances to make parliamentary proceedings more organised and effective:
1. When they cannot attend the parliamentary meeting in full.
2. When they arrive more than 30 minutes late.
3. When they have to leave the meeting midway after attending.
4. When they leave during a meeting and return later.
The party has sent the instruction to all its lawmakers.
The instruction states that MPs must mandatorily submit the parliamentary absence application form if they cannot attend a meeting for any reason, arrive more than 30 minutes late, leave the meeting midway after attending, or leave the meeting temporarily and return.
