Appointments to crucial constitutional positions have been pushed further as parliamentary regulations, a must for forming the Parliamentary Hearing Committee, are unlikely to be approved anytime soon.

Given the business of the federal parliament with budget for the next fiscal year, discussion on which will go on for at least three more weeks before it is put to a vote, the rules are unlikely to be passed within this month.

Formation of the hearing committee will take at least a week—and a few days thereafter for the panel to begin its work.

Candidates for constitutional positions such as chief justice, chiefs and other commissioners at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority and ambassadors to various countries are subjected to parliamentary hearing before appointment.

The CIAA has been without its chief for four months after Chief Commissioner Deep Basnyat retired on February 12. At the Supreme Court, since the dismissal of Chief Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli on March 14, Deepak Raj Joshee has been working as the acting chief. The Judicial Council has recommended Joshee and justices Om Prakash Mishra and Cholendra Shumsher Rana to the Constitutional Council (CC) as the CJ candidates. The CC has selected neither the CIAA chief nor the CJ.

“The Speaker is willing to forge consensus among the parties on the regulations before presenting the document to the House for approval. He believes that the regulations should be based on consensus,” Gopal Nath Yogi, secretary at the House of Representatives, told the Post. The ruling and opposition parties are divided over suspension of a lawmaker facing judicial custody and on the number of parliamentary committees. The regulation guides the House business.According to Yogi, endorsement of the budget for the next fiscal year is not possible before June 24. The regulations will be on the House agenda only after the budget is passed. The House committees, also called mini-parliaments, watch the activities of the ministries concerned.

Parliamentarians to be orientated

KATHMANDU: The Parlia-ment Secretariat is preparing to orient members of the federal parliament on the proceedings of both the Houses within a week. Sessions of the Upper House have been put off until June 10 while the Lower House will also be adjourned for a week after Sunday. As new lawmakers are unaware of how parliamentary proceedings go and of their rights and limitations, the two-day orientation focuses on the issues, Yogi told the Post. (PR)