Kathmandu, January 30
Call it yet another departure from the past.
Dor Prasad Upadhyaya, a lawmaker from the ruling CPN-Maoist Centre, has become chair of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
Upadhyaya won the vote for the position of PAC chair that had been lying vacant for six months. At Monday’s meeting of the PAC, Upadhyaya got votes from the ruling Nepali Congress, Madheshi parties and other small parties.
Against Upadhyaya’s 23, Pashupati Chaulagain from the main opposition CPN-UML got 16 votes, thanks to support from parties, including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which is part of the Prachanda-led ruling alliance.
After Upadhyaya’s election, the CPN-UML described the selection of PAC chief from a ruling party as a breach of parliamentary practice. But this is not the first such instance.
In parliamentary practice, PAC is a mini Parliament and hte position of PAC Chair generally goes to the main opposition. This is because this committee convenes discussions on government activities, including arrears. An opposition-led PAC helps rein in on the government.
Thanks to political brinkmanship, the PAC leadership went to the ruling party. At the first Constituent Assembly, the Nepali Congress presided over the PAC. At that time, NC’s Ram Krishna Yadav became PAC chair. Despite changes in the government, NC held on to the position. The Congress joined the government formed under Madhav Nepal, a leader of the UML, but did not quit the important position. This continued even after elections for Constituent Assembly II with major political parties dividing leaderships of several parliamentary committees among themselves.
When a Congress-UML government was in power, Janardan Sharma Prabhakar from the main opposition Maoist party became PAC chair. After promulgation of the Constitution, the Maoist party and UML formed a government, while NC played the role of the main opposition.
But the Congress did not get the PAC leadership. Sharma continued as PAC chief.
Then ruling CPN-UML is the main opposition now, whereas Congress and the CPN-Maoist Centre are in the government.
UML laid claim on PAC leadership. The ruling Maoist party was positive towards its demands but then it sought the parliamentary Development Committee in return.
The UML was bent on not quitting the DC leadership. It instead proposed sharing leadership of three other parliamentary committees — Public Accounts Committee, Impeachment Recommendation Committee and Constitution Monitoring and Inspection Committee. But the ruling party rejected this proposal and the UML lost PAC leadership.
