President of the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rabi Lamichhane, has said that having a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives alone would not be enough to amend the Constitution.
Lamichhane made the statement during a meeting of the House of Representatives’ State Affairs and Good Governance Committee on Thursday.
“Some colleagues have said that the government should have the courage to move forward and that they will support it. They have said that they will provide the numbers. But simply reaching a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives is not enough to amend the Constitution,” he said. “The Constitution cannot be amended by the House of Representatives alone. We need to understand these things.”
Lamichhane said that if lawmakers were expressing their views with the intention of supporting the government, that was welcome. He, however, urged them to keep facts, the law, and the Constitution in mind.
He also said that constitutional bodies should not be labeled as belonging to a particular political party based on appointments.
“Appointments are made in accordance with the responsibilities given by the Constitution,” he said. “Making accusatory remarks demeans the people leading those institutions. I am not after individuals, but I don’t want institutions to be disrespected. If institutions are continuously weakened, I think that will weaken democracy.”
He also said that they had never envisioned a situation in which people would neither respect nor trust one another.
Lamichhane said that while many expect the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to do a lot in the area of good governance, adequate attention has not been paid to equipping the commission with resources. He added that the CIAA would not face any kind of interference in proceeding according to the law.
“Since we came into government, no one has been appointed to the CIAA. They were recommended during the tenure of different governments,” he said. “We will not interfere with the CIAA in any way; let it work according to the law.”
