“It has happened for the first time in the history of Parliament that the Lower House rejected a Bill endorsed by the Upper House in the first reading with a show of hands.
“To prevent such a thing from happening again, the Natural Resources and Environment Committee requests the Chairperson of the National Council and the Speaker of the National Assembly to sort out and resolve the issue before endorsement of the Bills,” said Karma Gyeltshen, the Dy. Chairperson for Natural Resources and Environment Committee of the National Council.
The adoption of the recommendation for the Impeachment Procedure Bill of Bhutan 2019 and Minister and Minister Equivalent Post Holders’ Entitlement Bill 2019 is scheduled to be presented today. However, Both the Bills were rejected by the Lower House last month in its first reading with the show of hands justifying that:
Impeachment Procedure Bill of Bhutan 2019:
- not all provisions of the Constitution are implemented in it.
- All are capable individuals.
- More acts would only make it complicated for those implementing them.
Minister and Minister Equivalent Post Holders’ Entitlement Bill 2019:
- Pool vehicle rights for Ministers’ families would be too much
- The country is already in a poor economic state and such provisions would only burden…..
- All entitlement Acts need to be consolidated.
According to the National Council, the Lower House had not followed the legislative rules of procedure.
The Legislative Committee and the Natural Resources and Environment Committee of the National Council requested the Chairperson of the House to discuss and resolve the matter with the Speaker of the National Assembly today.
“The Legislative Committee has also studied the matter well and the committee fully agrees to what the Deputy Chair of the Natural Resources and Environment Committee said and we fully support the motion,” added Choining Dorji, the Chairperson of Legislative Committee.
Accordingly, the Chairperson agreed to meet and discuss the issue with the Speaker of the National Assembly.
“If this is the situation, as both the committees said, it has happened for the first time in the history of Parliament. So before endorsing the Bills, I accept the motion to discuss the matter with the Speaker of the National Assembly and I will report to the House on the discussions or resolutions that will be drawn from the meeting,” said Tashi Dorji, Chairperson of National Council.
The Impeachment Procedure Bill 2019 will give impeachment rights to the Houses based on incapacity, incompetence and serious misconduct by the Constitutional post holders. According to the Chairperson of the Legislative Committee, If the Minister and Minister Equivalent Post Holders’ Entitlement Bill 2019 act is passed, it will enable Minister or Minister Equivalent Post Holders to perform their responsibilities in an efficient, fair and transparent manner with accountability and integrity.
Tshering Dendup
