National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timlasina has again removed the bill about expanding jurisdiction of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) from the schedule.
The bills for amendment on CIAA Act and Prevention of Corruption Act were listed for endorsement for Monday but Chairman Timalsina has again removed it from the schedule. He had also removed the bills from the schedule on June 23 after the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) sought time for discussion.
The secretariat meeting of ruling CPN after that discussed about reservations about the CIAA bill from the private sector and CPN Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha said Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli agreed to remove some provisions from the bill.
The Legislative Management Committee of National Assembly has unanimously passed the amendment bill about expanding jurisdiction of the CIAA.
The bill for amendment of CIAA Act proposes that the CIAA can monitor the private sector and the banking sector inviting widespread criticism from the private sector and entrepreneurs. They have been protesting against expansion of jurisdiction of the CIAA pointing that bodies like Department of Revenue Investigation and the Department of Money Laundering Investigation are already in place to investigate the private sector.
The bill includes even banks, educational institutions, insurance companies and medical colleges in its definition of public institutions. The definition has also been included in the bill for amendment of Prevention of Corruption Act.
The bill also paves the way for CIAA investigation on any publicly listed company after the government issues notice in the Nepal Gazette.
