The bill to make Limbu and Maithili official languages in the state assembly was rejected by the ruling partner UML and the Congress whip.
The Non-Governmental Bill, which was registered for the first time in the Koshi State Assembly on February 28, was 'tabled' on Thursday after about 6 months. However, due to the whip of the ruling parties, the bill was rejected by the majority.
The bill submitted by MP Gombu Sherpa of CPN (Maoist Center) and MP Khinu Langwa Limbu of CPN (Unified Socialist) with the aim of determining the language of the provincial government was rejected because the ruling partners UML and Congress issued a whip to deactivate it.
In the state assembly meeting, the 'Bill to regulate the language of Koshi state government work, 2081' was presented for decision after discussion.
MPs Sherpa and Limbu had registered a bill to make Limbu and Maithili the official working languages of the state based on the recommendation of the Language Commission. The bill had provisions to ensure the protection, promotion and right of use of all the national languages in use within the province.
After the cabinet meeting on 16th July approved the submission of the government bill on language, the government registered it at the State Assembly Secretariat on 18th July.
After the rejection of the first non-governmental bill in the history of the state assembly, the ruling party is now preparing to advance the language policy through the government bill. The opposition parties have also interpreted this move as distrust towards multilingual identity and inclusive practices.
