National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timalsina has stated that speaker cannot send back the recommendations by the Constitutional Council except when ordered by the court.
Speaker Agni Sapkota on Sunday had sent back the recommendations by the Constitutional Council for parliamentary hearing of officials recommended for constitutional bodies.
"There is no legal provision for any body or official other than the two-third majority of the parliamentary hearing committee to reject or send back the recommendations by the Constitutional Council for hearing," Chairman Timalsina has said issuing a statement on Monday.
The Constitutional Council after Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House on December 20 had announced that all the vacancies in constitutional bodies were filled before the House dissolution.
The Constitutional Council meeting on December 15 had decided to fill the vacancies. The meeting held hours after PM Oli unilaterally brought the ordinance with a provision that allows decision in the Constitutional Council with support of the majority of the existing members had recommended to fill all the vacant constitutional positions.
The decision was not made public immediately and revealed only after the House dissolution.
Speaker Sapkota sent back the recommendations saying hearing cannot be conducted as the House of Representatives has been dissolved.
"The recommendations by Constitutional Council decided with my participation were provided to the parliamentary hearing committee completing due procedures," Chairman Timalsina has pointed. "The recommendation letters were provided to the general secretary of federal parliament and secretary of the hearing committee before dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR). I have serious reservations on sending back of the recommendations on unilateral decision of speaker when they were in process."
He has also taken exception to the claims by Speaker Sapkota in the letter he wrote while sending back the recommendations that the speaker of House of Representatives has the rights for management and operation of the federal parliament and committees under it pointing that the hearing committee is a joint committee of the upper and lower Houses.
He has argued that the claims by Sapkota attacked the constitutional provision about bicameral federal parliament, established practices and the role and prestige of the upper House.
