The path to resolution sought in every political crisis provides an opportunity not only for politicians but also for constitutional institutions to establish new roles.

The National Assembly can play an important role in setting the roadmap for the constitutional amendment to be made in the near future, so that the demands of the youth expressed on the streets are also addressed. In the event of a crisis, if the House of Representatives is not present, the National Assembly can form an interim government and take the country to elections. If a neutral government is needed even for regular general elections, meaningful discussions are also needed on the option of opening the constitutional path for the formation of an interim government led by members of the National Assembly and including representatives of civil society. 

The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has issued a 'show cause' order on the writ petitions filed against the interim government formed after the turmoil of Bhadra 23 and 24, the dissolution of the House of Representatives, and the elections announced for Falgun 21, 2082. This is the third incident in which the House of Representatives has been dissolved only after the constitution issued by the Constituent Assembly on Asoj 3, 2072 came into effect. The Supreme Court had declared the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's decision to dissolve the previous House of Representatives on Poush 5, 2077 and Jestha 8, 2078 unconstitutional on both occasions. The regular term of the members elected for 5 years from the second House of Representatives election held on Mangsir 4, 2079 BS was more than two years. This article focuses not on the legal aspects of the dissolution of the House of Representatives, but on the role that the upper house can and should play in the vacancy of the lower house. 

National Assembly: Illusion and Reality

Adopting a federal system for the first time, the Constitution of Nepal has established a bicameral legislature in the union and a unicameral legislature in the provinces. Article 83 of the Constitution calls the House of Representatives and the National Assembly jointly the ‘Federal Parliament’. The role of both these houses in the formulation of federal laws is indispensable. Without the presence and role of either house, the other house alone cannot formulate any law. Therefore, in the current situation where the House of Representatives has been dissolved, the legislative role of the National Assembly is naturally suspended. So, does the National Assembly have no function in the absence of the House of Representatives? Of course it does. 

Even in the absence of the House of Representatives, the National Assembly, by acting within the limits of the Constitution, can establish its role as a guardian of democracy in resolving the immediate political crisis and a guide for constitutional reforms to be carried out in the near future. It is appropriate to start by inviting the youth of the Gen-G age group to dialogue with various classes, regions and communities of the country and instill confidence in the parliamentary process. The National Assembly can be a universally accepted body as a legitimate venue for meaningful efforts to create an environment for elections, objective discussions on the multifaceted aspects of constitutional reform, and meaningful reviews of the implementation of the constitution. 

The House can be convened, it must be convened immediately

Article 93 of the Constitution clearly provides that sessions of both or either House of the Federal Parliament can be convened and that the gap between two sessions cannot exceed six months. Therefore, a session of the National Assembly can be convened even when the House of Representatives is dissolved. However, there is a constitutional provision that such a session must be convened by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Unlike the House of Representatives, the facility where one-fourth of the members can make a written request for convening a session is not available for the National Assembly. In the absence of a House of Representatives, the government should convene a session of the National Assembly at an appropriate time to express the aspirations of the people and institutionally initiate political dialogue. For this, the leadership of the assembly, the party represented in the assembly, and its members can challenge the government. Earlier, there was an example of a short session of the National Assembly during the dissolution of the House of Representatives. However, the current situation is different. 

Our neighboring Indian democracy has established the practice of the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, remaining uninterrupted even during the Emergency and the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Even during the Emergency of 1977, the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, and the new elections to the lower house (the Emergency was lifted only before the results were announced), the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, was partially active. Without entering into regular legislative matters, it discussed important issues such as the state of emergency, civil rights, and freedom of the press. Its conclusions made a significant contribution to the reform of the Indian Constitution. The example of the British Parliament not being suspended even amid the devastation of World War II shows the importance of democratic institutions and people's representatives in times of crisis. 

Justification of a permanent house

In our country too, the framers of the constitution seem to have imagined that ‘an extraordinary situation may arise in the country at any time’ while making the provision for the National Assembly as a permanent house. As an expression of this, we can look at Article 273, Clause 8 of the Constitution. According to which, in the event that the House of Representatives is dissolved in the context of approving a state of emergency, the National Assembly exercises the powers of the entire federal parliament. The people's representatives will also manage the emergency situation that may arise in the country at any time. In other words, the Constitution has not imagined any absence of a parliament. The current situation in the country is not the dissolution of the parliament, but the dissolution of the House of Representatives. The National Assembly is a permanent house. The committees under it can be active even when the session of the upper house is not in session. We have practiced this during the Corona pandemic as well. 

Considering the prevailing situation in the country, a middle path of preparing a concrete agenda for the National Assembly session and convening the session for only a short period of time is appropriate. Such a convention can set a priority for serious discussions on the critical situation in the country and the passage of urgent resolutions. Its expert members can be active individually and collectively for all-party consensus on resolutions on possible roadmaps for a political solution and other urgent public importance resolutions on contemporary issues. 

The resolution passed by the then Legislative Assembly on rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction during the 2072 earthquake can be taken as an example. Such an initiative initiated by the House during a national disaster created an environment of understanding to issue a middle-of-the-road constitution amidst conflicting political stances. 

The activity of the committee

is not only a workshop of the Parliament, but also the parliamentary committees have the facility to remain active when the House is not in session. Due to the dissolution of the House of Representatives, the joint committees of both the Houses have also been automatically dissolved. However, the four committees of the National Assembly, which is a permanent house, are also permanent. This is an important opportunity for these committees, which are reconstituted and refreshed every two years, to establish their relevance. 

The committees of the National Assembly have also practiced representative consultations with members of the provincial assemblies and local levels in the past, from inviting stakeholders to formal meetings to their legislative work. The nationwide discussion and study conducted by a special committee in the context of federalism implementation can be used as an example to start discussions on the content of constitutional amendments. The report prepared by the National Assembly committee based on the study and measurement of the implementation of the constitution can prepare a universally acceptable basis for constitutional amendments.

Roadmap for constitutional amendments 

There are several provisions in the constitution, the amendment of which can easily lead to a national consensus. For example, there is already a general consensus that the number of highly distinguished officials should be reduced so that the Vice President presides over the upper house, as in the United States and neighboring India. While making amendments in this regard, it can also be arranged that the Speaker of the National Assembly will be the 'ex-officio Vice President', in Nepal's uniqueness. Personally, I think the second option is more suitable. 

Article 280 of the Constitution provides that if both the posts of President and Vice President are vacant, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall perform the functions of the President according to the Constitution until a new election of the President or Vice President takes office. However, the Constitution is silent on what to do if the post of Speaker is also vacant due to nominations for the House of Representatives election. This means that an objective review of the Constitution is necessary not only for political crisis management, but also considering the possible challenges that may arise in implementation. This work can be done not on the basis of the political activities of the House of Representatives, but on the basis of the national perspective and maturity that the members of the National Assembly should have. It is appropriate to give the authority granted to the Speaker by Article 280 of the Constitution to the senior member of the National Assembly, which position never remains vacant.

While the government and the Election Commission are preparing for the elections, if the National Assembly can prepare a roadmap for a comprehensive review and amendment of the Constitution, it will help and also impose a burden on all the new and old forces to clarify their respective agendas. Those who share similar views on issues such as the form of governance, electoral system, form of federalism, and number of people's representatives get the opportunity to form a front and strive for meaningful results before the election. On the other hand, such a commitment made before the election helps ensure meaningful development of the constitution, strengthening of democracy, and peaceful transfer of power. Such an effort also helps in easily forming a majority government after the election, forming an alliance based on ideological proximity, and finding a middle-of-the-road solution for a political solution. 

The decision made by the then seven political parties regarding the implementation of the republic before the first Constituent Assembly election can be seen as a relevant example here. Since they had already committed to formally bidding farewell to the monarchy from the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly before the election, there was no need for a referendum on the issue of the republic. In other words, if the number of seats won by any of the seven parties were considered to be in favor of the republic, the pro-monarchist RPP Nepal had won a total of 4 seats in the 601-member Constituent Assembly. As a result, it was possible to easily implement the republic without forming a new constitution as per the provisions of the interim constitution. 

A new chapter of instability

It may be surprising to see the Prime Minister's 'musical chairs', but at first glance, many people think that change of government and political instability are the same. However, these are completely different issues. Even when there is one government for a long time, there may not be political stability. Some strong rulers in multi-faceted conflict-ridden countries can be seen as examples of this. On the other hand, there are developed countries like Japan that have political stability despite rapid government changes. In our case, even after the constitution issued by the Constituent Assembly came into effect, the country achieved political stability.

Yes, even during this time, there was no stability of the government. Despite the number of times the government has changed in ten years, only three leaders of the three parties (UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda) have become prime ministers. Although the first House of Representatives was dissolved twice, the Supreme Court annulled it. The Supreme Court has prohibited mid-term elections to the House of Representatives except in cases where the parliament has failed to form a government. However, the Gen-G rebellion meeting, which began with the demand for good governance, has been held in the dissolution of the House of Representatives. 

No article of the constitution regarding government formation has allowed anyone other than a member of the House of Representatives to be appointed as the Prime Minister. However, in the special circumstances mentioned in the background, the name of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki became universally accepted. Not only the youth of the Gen-G age group, but also the older generation who have grown up in politics are divided on whether the current form of governance should remain the same or move towards a directly elected executive. The Constituent Assembly has concluded the debate on the form of governance that began with the 2007 revolution against the Rana Shahi dynasty with a reformed parliamentary system. Like pluralistic democratic republic, inclusiveness, and secularism, federalism is also a fundamental pillar of the constitution made by sovereign people's representatives. The Constituent Assembly-era debates, from the form of governance that has been accused of instability to the federalism that seems burdensome and costly, have now been revived. Yes, now the country has entered instability. देशको इतिहास, राजनीतिक संस्कृति, आन्तरिक शक्ति सन्तुलन र भूराजनीतिलाई अनदेखा गरेर शासकीय स्वरूपको अन्तर्य बुझन् सकिँदैन । 

आपत्‌कालीन सरकार गठनको ढोका

जेन–जी विद्रोह लगत्तैको जस्तो संकटमा प्रतिनिधिसभा बाहिरबाट अन्तरिम सरकार गठन गर्न सकिने वैकल्पिक व्यवस्था अबको संविधान संशोधनमा समेट्नु उत्तिकै आवश्यक छ । नियमित आमनिर्वाचनका लागि पनि तटस्थ अन्तरिम सरकारको आवश्यकता पर्दा राष्ट्रिय सभा सदस्यको नेतृत्वमा नागरिक समाजका प्रतिनिधि सम्मिलित अन्तरिम सरकार उपयुक्त विकल्प हुन सक्छ ।

भारतमा सन् २००४ देखि २०१४ सम्म कंग्रेस आई नेतृत्वको गठबन्धन सरकारका प्रधानमन्त्री रहेका डा. मनमोहन सिंह सन् १९९१ देखि २०१९ सम्मै माथिल्लो सदन राज्यसभा सदस्य थिए । सन् १९६६ मा पहिलो पटक प्रधानमन्त्री नियुक्त हुँदा इन्दिरा गान्धी पनि राज्यसभाकै सदस्य थिइन् । सन् १९६४ देखि १९६७ सम्म राज्यसभा सदस्य रहकी गान्धी त्यसपछि मात्रै लोकसभा सदस्यमा निर्वाचित भएकी हुन् । सन् १९९७ मा छोटो समय प्रधानमन्त्री भएका आई. के. गुजराल पनि राज्यसभा सदस्य नै थिए । नेपालको सन्दर्भमा भारतमा जस्तो नियमित अवस्थामा नभई निर्वाचन वा अन्य विशेष अवस्थामा मात्रै माथिल्लो सदनबाट सरकार गठन गर्ने मौलिक प्रणालीको विकल्पमा छलफल गर्नु आवश्यक छ । 

सरकार गठनको वैकल्पिक प्रबन्ध, निर्वाचन प्रणालीदेखि जनप्रतिनिधिको संख्या कटौतीसम्मका यावत् विषयमा राष्ट्रिय सभा र यसअन्तर्गतका समितिहरूले तत्कालै सार्थक संवाद र छलफल थाल्नुपर्छ । जेन–जी मात्रै होइन, जेन–अल्फा उमेर समूहका युवासँग समेत खुला र अर्थपूर्ण छलफल गरी संविधान संशोधनको मार्गचित्रमा राजनीतिक दलहरूलाई समेत मार्गदर्शन गर्नु स्थायी सदनको कर्तव्य हो । यस्तो छलफलबाट निस्कने निष्कर्षले एजेन्डा छनोटमा दलहरूलाई मात्रै होइन, आमनिर्वाचनका बेला आमनागरिकलाई समेत सहयोग पुग्छ । नयाँ–पुराना सबै दलहरूले संविधान संशोधनको स्पष्ट मार्गचित्र लिएर निर्वाचनमा जाँदा मात्रै नयाँ बन्ने प्रतिनिधिसभाले संविधान संशोधनसहित राजनीतिक संकटको दीर्घकालीन समाधान दिन सक्छ ।