In a rule of law and parliamentary democracy, parliament is the highest place where citizens can exercise their rights through elected representatives.

Parliament is responsible for closely monitoring the formation of the government and the activities of the government, formulating laws according to the feelings of the citizens, and monitoring the implementation of those laws. Parliament also holds the government accountable to the parliament, ratifies international peace agreements, and monitors the daily concerns of the citizens, including national security. Parliament also passes the policies, programs, and budgets presented by the government and rejects them if they are not in the interest of the citizens. Parliament is the most powerful body among the three main organs of balance and control. Parliament conducts parliamentary hearings of the judges of the Supreme Court and dismisses them through impeachment if they have done wrong.

According to the Constitution of Nepal, the federal legislature, consisting of two houses, the House of Representatives and the National Assembly, is defined as the federal parliament. Of these, the House of Representatives has 275 members and the National Assembly has 59 members. Three members of the National Assembly are nominated by the President. The remaining 56 members are elected at the rate of eight from each province. They are elected by the votes of the members of the respective provincial assemblies, the chairperson, vice-chairperson, mayor and deputy mayor of the municipality. The National Assembly is a permanent house. Every two years, one-third of the posts become vacant and the vacancies are added through elections. Elections are being held on 11 Magh to fill the one-third of the posts that will become vacant on 21 Falgun. The Congress has started the selection process of candidates. There is also talk of an alliance between the UML and the Congress.

The National Assembly has been criticized by citizens on issues including the role of MPs. Since the National Assembly is also a place of people's representatives, there is a general understanding that it should be represented by people who have achieved recognition at the national level and have acquired expertise in various thematic areas. Since provincial and local level officials vote for the National Assembly, the idea that people who understand the provinces and local levels well is equally strong. Therefore, when a political party nominates candidates for the National Assembly, they should select people who will enhance the dignity of the National Assembly. The person nominated by the President should also understand the aspirations of the entire country rather than any particular party. This article is about the historical aspects of the National Assembly and its constitutional role.

The first written constitution in Nepal was promulgated in 2004 BS as the ‘Government of Nepal Legislative Act’. However, it was not implemented. This constitution envisaged a bicameral legislature. There was a provision for a Rashtra Sabha (House of Representatives) consisting of 60 to 70 people and a Bhardari Sabha (National Assembly) consisting of 20 to 30 people. There was a provision that the Rana Prime Minister could appoint people who had enhanced the pride of the country through any profession, employment, or special qualifications based on his own discretion. After the change in 2007 BS, the king promulgated the Interim Governance Act, 2007.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 2015, promulgated by King Mahendra, also envisaged a bicameral legislature. The House of Representatives was established as the lower house and the Maha Sabha as the upper house. The number of the House of Representatives was 109 and the Maha Sabha was 36. There was a provision that 18 members of the Maha Sabha would be elected by the House of Representatives and the remaining 18 would be nominated by the King. The term of office of the members of the Maha Sabha would be 6 years and, as is the case now, the term of office of one-third of the members would expire in two years. There was a provision that the members of the Maha Sabha should have reached the age of 30. The term of office of the Head and Deputy Head of the House of Representatives and Maha Sabha, respectively, began with this constitution.

After the change of 2046, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 2047, provided for a 205-member House of Representatives and a 60-member National Assembly. There was a provision for a total of 60 members, including ten nominated by the King from among renowned individuals who have made distinguished contributions to various fields of national life, 35 elected by the House of Representatives, including at least 3 women, and 15 elected from each development area by the votes of the heads and deputy heads of local bodies (including members of the National Assembly). The current permanent house had a term of 6 years, with one-third of its term expiring every two years, and an age limit of 35 years. In some countries, including India and the United States, the upper house has an age limit of 30 years. In India and the United States, the vice president presides over the upper house. It would be best for Nepal to adopt the practices of these countries in terms of age and chairmanship.

The interim constitution, drafted after the 2062/63 movement, in 2063, only provided for the Constituent Assembly as a unicameral legislature. The constitution of Nepal promulgated in 2072 again provided for a bicameral legislature. Under which, the National Assembly was provided as the upper house. However, the National Assembly was ignored on the issue of rights. Nothing was said about the experience and qualifications of the persons nominated by the President.

Instead, the 2047 Constitution had said that only persons who have achieved distinction at the national level would be nominated by the King. Qualification and ability were also discussed for the Bhardari Sawa of 2004 BS. Article 80 of the Constitution of India provides that only persons with special or practical knowledge in the fields of literature, science, art and social service can be nominated by the President to the Rajya Sabha.

When discussing the constitutional rights of the National Assembly, there is a constitutional provision that the Finance Bill can be presented only in the House of Representatives. If the House of Representatives passes the bill and sends it to the National Assembly, the National Assembly must send it back within 15 days. Similarly, other bills must be returned by the National Assembly within two months of being sent by the House of Representatives. However, there is no mention of the timing of sending a bill originating in the National Assembly to the House of Representatives. It is said that it will be sent at any time. The important function of the Parliament is to formulate laws. There is a difference between the House of Representatives and the National Assembly in terms of law formulation. Regarding ordinances, it has the same authority as the House of Representatives. It must be passed by both houses within 60 days of the start of the parliament session. Ordinances are an exception in the parliamentary system. They are introduced only when it is necessary when the parliament is not in session. The role of the National Assembly has been weakened not only in drafting bills, but also in the matter of impeachment.

Only members of the House of Representatives have the right to submit a motion of impeachment against the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court, members of the Judicial Council, heads or officials of constitutional bodies. Similarly, members of the National Assembly do not have the right to register a motion regarding the President and Vice President. However, it only has the right to participate in the discussion and vote.

The National Assembly has no role in monitoring constitutional bodies, as in impeachment. There are 13 constitutional bodies in Nepal, including the Public Service Commission, the Commission for the Prevention of Abuse of Authority, and the Election Commission. Only the House of Representatives (except the Human Rights Commission) has the right to monitor and evaluate the work done by these bodies and give instructions. The constitution itself has weakened the role of the National Assembly in government formation, impeachment, and monitoring constitutional bodies. Although it has no role in government formation, it should have had a role in drafting bills.

According to the Inter-Legislative Union (IPU), which has 183 member countries including Nepal, the National Assembly basically reviews bills, protects minority communities and regional or territorial interests, maintains constitutional balance, and facilitates deliberations. If the House of Representatives is quickly influenced by public sentiment and makes hasty and immature decisions, instability in the country can increase. The IPU believes that the National Assembly should also work to moderate this and make the decision-making process mature and inclusive. The National Assembly has failed to play its role according to this concept of the IPU. The main reasons behind this are political parties and leaders. Political parties have not been able to assimilate the sentiments of the National Assembly. The House of Representatives has been overshadowed. Similarly, the anger of the House of Representatives has also been used to tear down the pillars of the National Assembly. There is instability in the country at present. There is distrust and a gap between political parties, between citizens and the state, and between the government and parties. In such a situation, the IPU and scholars and writers in the parliamentary field believe that the National Assembly should act as a bridge.

The author Madison (1788) has said that the National Assembly should protect against instability and momentary public sentiment and provide stability to the decision-making process. Lizfart (2012) has depicted the National Assembly as an integral part of consensual democracy. It is time for Nepal to internalize the views of these scholars. For this, the National Assembly itself should also take the initiative.

Tsebelis and Mani (1997) have considered the National Assembly as a ‘veto’ player that can improve and balance the legislative process by preventing hasty and biased lawmaking. On issues such as drinking water, transportation, police, forests, and finance, the Federal Parliament has approved bills that infringe on the rights of the provincial and local levels. Even if the House of Representatives infringes on its rights, the National Assembly should have warned. In a discussion held a few weeks ago, the leaders of the Gen-G movement asked questions such as why the provincial and local levels were not allowed to exercise their rights, why the necessary laws were not brought, and why the laws brought restricted the rights of the provincial and local levels. According to IPU and parliamentary experts, the National Assembly should speak out for the excluded citizens, maintain regional balance, and be vigilant in drafting laws.

Despite being weakened by the constitution, the National Assembly has played a good role in some issues. For example, asking questions to the Prime Minister and ministers in parliament, drawing the government's attention to matters of concern to the provinces and local levels, discussing matters of urgent public importance and registering resolutions on other important issues, summoning government officials including the Prime Minister, Ministers, Secretaries and others to respond to bills and other matters of concern to citizens in parliamentary committees, raising matters of concern to the provinces and local levels, etc.

When discussing the equal rights of the National Assembly with the House of Representatives, it has the same rights on some issues including constitutional amendments, states of emergency, and ratification of treaties or agreements. According to Article 274, a two-thirds majority of both houses, including the National Assembly, is required to amend the constitution. Similarly, in the provision related to referendum, there is a provision in Article 275 that requires a two-thirds majority of both houses including the National Assembly. According to Article 279 of the Constitution, a two-thirds majority of both houses including the National Assembly is required for a treaty or agreement with a foreign country on matters of peace and friendship, security and strategic relations, borders of the State of Nepal and the sharing of natural resources and their utilization.

A two-thirds majority of the National Assembly is also required for the approval of a state of emergency. According to Article 273 of the Constitution, if a state of emergency is imposed on matters such as Nepal's sovereignty, geographical integrity, war, external aggression, etc., the government must register it with both houses including the National Assembly within one month and approve it within three months. If there is no House of Representatives, the National Assembly must approve it. This is the most important and complicated role of the National Assembly. During a state of emergency, some fundamental rights are suspended. Suspension of fundamental rights means weakening good governance and the rule of law. The experience of the last eight to ten years has shown that if the rulers become autocratic and arrogant, they will do anything.

We are not in a situation where the arrogance of the ruler can lead to the dissolution of the House of Representatives and not bring about a state of emergency. In such a situation, the National Assembly does the work of protecting the constitution and democracy. Due to constitutional provisions, the possibility of the two-thirds majority of the major two-three parties in the National Assembly is low. When the UML and the Congress had a majority of almost two-thirds in the House of Representatives, there was/is no simple majority in the National Assembly. Even with a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, there may not be a majority in the National Assembly. Therefore, the National Assembly also sends a message that political parties should exercise discretion while governing.