Kathmandu, Nepal, March 27, 2019: Government’s plan to keep the National Army under the preview of the Prime Minister bags strong exceptions from different quarters. Not only the opposition parties including the main opposition Nepali Congress but also the concerned security experts have termed the government’s plan as an authoritarian ambition of the incumbent government.
The government has prepared a draft bill that allows the Prime Minister to independently mobilize Nepal Army through cabinet decision in the case of a national emergency. The draft bill contradicts not only with the existing constitutional provision but also violates the fundamental principle regarding the mobilization of the national army.
Section 6(3) of the bill has provisioned that the council chairperson shall recommend to the government to mobilize the army in case of a serious national emergency or when any delay in army mobilization would cause such an emergency and a meeting of the Security Council is not immediately possible. As Security Council’s chairperson is the prime minister, he or she will automatically be able to mobilize the Nepal Army.
Such a provision of the bill was dragged into controversies as it is brought curtailing the role, responsibility and rights of the National Security Council while mobilizing the Nepal Army. As per the existing provisions, Nepal Army can only be mobilized through recommendation of the National Security Council which, also requires to be endorsed through the cabinet before receiving the final nod from the president. Though the bill envisages that council’s meeting would not possible to hold in case of emergence, the critics have found ill- intention in this point.
The government has prepared the Security Council bill as a series of bringing the national institutions under the Prime Minister. The critics have been saying that the incumbent government led by Nepal Communist Party (NC) is not only becoming arrogant due to the comfortable majority in the parliament but kept ambitions to impose dictatorship by infringing the constitution provisions and spirit of separation of power.
Prime Minister KP Oli has already brought several offices including the Money Laundering Investigation Department, Inland Revenue Department and National Investigation Department under the PMO Since he come into power.
Issuing a statement, the main opposition Nepali Congress has condemned the act and activities of the incumbent government including the Security Council bill. The government is moving against of the direction affecting the values and spirit of the democratic constitution, reads the statement.
In a separate note, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Bal Krishna Khad also challenged the government to be ready to face the severe consequence if the bill was not revised. The Nepali Congress will not allow endorsing the controversial bill from the federal parliament, Khand said.
Similarly, Naya Shakti Coordinator Baburam Bhattarai has also criticized the government for the controversial provision of the bill. Bhattrai, who is also the former prime Minister, has alleged that the government would have made such a plan to consolidate power by bringing several institutions under the Prime Minister to clear ways for a coup.
As the constitution has envisioned a separate federal law to define the duties and responsibilities of the Security Council, the government has for the first time drafted the bill for the Security Council.
The bill only authorizes the Security Council to seek information, records or suggestions from the central and provincial governments about issues of national interest, security and defense.
As per the proposed bill, the Security Council can only recommend criteria for the use and coordination of assistance from a foreign army during national disasters, recommend to the government about bilateral or multilateral assistance to Nepal Army, and draft policy related to weapons and armaments needed for the security bodies.
