Kathmandu. Nepal Communist Party (UML) youth leader Mahesh Bartaula is currently the Chief Whip. The Chief Whip, who started his political journey in 2053 BS, was elected from Constituency No. 2 of Makawanpur district.
He was the district president of the UML’s sister organization, the Nepal National Free Trade Union (ANNFSU), from 2059 to 2063 BS. He became active in politics after being elected as the president of the Free Trade Union (NFTU) in 2062 and 2065 BS.
Presented is an excerpt from a conversation with Chief Whip Bartouta on topics focused on the government’s policies and programs, implementation and amendment of the constitution, implementation of federalism, and other contemporary issues of the people.
It has been almost ten years since the constitution was promulgated. How do you view the status of implementation during this ten-year period?
Necessary laws need to be formulated to fully implement the constitution. In that sense, some important laws related to the implementation of the constitution have been formulated. However, even within that, some laws to implement federalism are still in the process of being formulated.
The form of government that we have created is yet to be further strengthened and implemented in a way that makes it stronger. Especially, we have not been able to bring the act related to the federal civil service, the act related to education, and the act related to the federal police on time.
The failure to enact these laws on time has caused some difficulties in moving forward on the path of constitution implementation. Questions have also been raised about the need for these laws to be made on time. Therefore, we are working to quickly conclude the fundamentally important bills related to the implementation of the constitution and the implementation of federalism.
Looking at the implementation of the constitution, two elections have been held in the space of ten years. It has been implemented, but not as much as it should have been. The time has come to review the strengths and weaknesses of the constitution. The issue of amending the constitution to improve the weaknesses has been raised.
The agreement reached between the largest parties, the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), and other parties during the formation of the current government also mentioned the issue of amending the constitution. How do you view the issue of amending the constitution?
We have also mentioned the issue of amending the constitution in the seven-point agreement reached when forming the current government. First, we need to review the status of the implementation of the constitution. Let us determine which issues need to be reviewed while reviewing.
Some of the issues that were deemed necessary while drafting the constitution yesterday may not be necessary today. Or should those needs be redefined or not? However, the government has not yet reached a conclusion on which issues to amend.
The government has opened the door for amending the constitution. Now we have to decide on the issue of amendment based on the strengths and weaknesses. As the government opens the door for amendment, a question is arising. It has been said that the Congress-UML tried to destroy and tear up the constitution. What we say on this subject is that the constitution is not a document that cannot be amended.
It is a matter of amending according to time. Amendment of the constitution may not be done once or twice, but dozens of times based on the need. We need to think from this angle. The constitution should be made in a way that further strengthens the core features of the constitution, including proportionality/inclusivity, secularism, federalism, democratic republicanism and social justice, and also strengthens the weak sides.
We are not just talking about the number of Congress UML members, we are trying to make the issue of constitutional amendment a common issue for everyone.
We are currently practicing a federal democratic republic, what can be done to make our current federalism even stronger and better?
Primarily, federalism means taking the government to the doorsteps of the people. Decentralization is the centralization of resources/means. The main objective of federalism is to provide proportional representation in all levels of the state and to provide access to the people at all levels of the state.
Therefore, for the overall development of the country, the main essence of federalism is to distribute the available resources equally. The essence of federalism is to create employment from the ward level, manage citizen complaints, and give a positive message to the citizens.
A happy Nepali and a prosperous Nepal have been envisioned through federalism. To fully implement that spirit, it is necessary to effectively operate the governance structure we have built according to the constitution.
Therefore, while we are writing the issue of rights in the constitution and in the law, we should take it to the implementation level. Citizens should feel federalism. Now we must move towards implementation in practice. 753 local governments, seven provincial governments and the federal government are working within the scope of the powers granted by the constitution, within the constitutional limits, responsibilities and rights.
The services provided to the citizens must be effectively advanced. For that, coordination, cooperation and consensus are necessary between all three levels of government.
The government has brought the policy and program for the upcoming fiscal year on Baisakh 19. How do you view the policy and program brought by the government?
The government’s policy and program seeks to promote entrepreneurial people. Priority has been given to effectively connecting school education to technology. Emphasis has been placed on connecting it to the technological edge.
Similarly, a solution has been found by assessing the existing limits of the economy. It has included working 20 hours a week for youth who are working and studying. Similarly, the policy and program have also mentioned free treatment for children under the age of 14 suffering from cancer.
The issue of scholarships in the field of medical education for students from oppressed and marginalized communities has been given importance. The current governance arrangements of the country have emphasized the need to make necessary laws for the strengthening of republicanism and federalism.
Another feature of the policy and program is to make the entire society of Nepal a pen-label society by making the contribution-based social security program a priority and mandatory. It is said that people with serious diseases will be addressed through insurance.
The policy and program has talked about arranging scholarships for the study of athletes who win medals at the international level and their families. Therefore, the policy and program for the upcoming fiscal year is very practical. It is progressive. The policy and program is focused on promoting employment by driving the country’s current economy.
You are a member of the House of Representatives elected from Makawanpur district, to what extent have you fulfilled the promises you made to the people there during the election?
First of all, what is the role of an MP? What should he do? It should be clear about what the constitutional rights of an MP are? His performance should be evaluated based on that. However, it is generally understood that an MP is a lawmaker. That is true. But we, especially in the election, promoted the development aspect more than the lawmaking aspect.
During the election, we could not say that our main job was to make laws. We were told that we would work as development activists. That would have been fine if we had a centralized governance system before 2074 BS. Even after we went to federalism, MPs are still talking about what ward chairmen or municipal heads should do.
Even after we went to a three-tier government, we MPs are still talking about development. However, during the election, I had said that I would fulfill the demands of the people related to development. For example: one municipality, one residential school.
I had said that I would make changes at the policy level for that. I had said that I would arrange drinking water in every household. I had said that I would take all possible initiatives for resource mobilization. I have taken the initiative to work in some positive ways in these areas.
The road network is the biggest problem in my constituency. Initiatives are also being taken in the budget to blacktop the roads leading to the municipality. In some places, there has also been work to take initiatives in budget management to build bridges.
I have also been taking initiatives on my behalf for skill-based programs in coordination with various levels of government, especially for human resource development. Although our role is to make laws, we have had to say that we should build roads, bridges and schools. Recently, we have also had to review the role, work and duties of MPs.
On the one hand, there is a growing number of people saying that MPs have not made laws. On the other hand, intellectuals or intellectual circles are questioning how many bridges and roads to build, which is putting MPs in a difficult position. What should MPs focus on? In what role should MPs position themselves?
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## – MPs should be focused primarily on legislative work. Rather than asking us how much development work has been done as MPs, this record should be with each ward. It should be with the provincial government. If this can be done, parliamentary elections will also be organized. It will be economical. Doing this will improve quality. The system will develop.
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## Because dozens of books have to be written to make a law. The country’s legal practice should be studied. Not everyone is interested in this. Now, when there is a government in the ward, development is done through them.
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