INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, JANUARY 24Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal told the National Assembly
that he would issue a show cause notice to members of his Cabinet if they spoke against federalism and republican order.
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Responding to lawmakers' queries in the Upper House of the Parliament today while debating a report presented by lawmaker Khim Lal
Devkota who headed the parliamentary special committee on federalism implementation study and monitoring, Dahal said, "I want to make it
clear that if any Cabinet member speaks against federalism or republican order, I will issue a show cause notice to him/her," he added.
Dahal's remarks came in response to Nepali Congress lawmaker Anita Devkota's speech in the House
She said the Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan had told a television channel that federalism should
be scrapped.Another NC lawmaker Yubaraj Sharma also told the House that whether or not the report submitted by the panel would be able to
discourage those ministers who took the oath of office and secrecy to protect the constitution but spoke against federalism was yet to be
seen.Two partners in the seven-party alliance - the Rastriya Swatantra Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party - do not accept the current
model of federalism.Dahal said any attempt to weaken the implementation of federalism was morally and politically wrong
"Lack of implementation of federalism has created some frustration among the public," the PM added
The PM said that federalism, republican order, and inclusive democracy were ensured in the new constitution as a result of sacrifices made
by the people, but some elements were trying to raise questions against these political gains.Lawmaker Devkota said federal and provincial
governments needed to reduce the number of ministries and ministers
He said the federal government should not have more than 15 ministries as 60 per cent of workload had been distributed to lower tiers of the
government in the federal framework.A version of this article appears in the print on January 24, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com