Following criticism from different quarters, the Parliament Secretariat has returned the badges meant for the lawmakers from both the Houses of the federal parliament to the manufacturer to correct the multiple errors in them.

The Secretariat has already returned 190 badges that were not distributed to the lawmakers. Those that have already been distributed will be recalled based on the wish of the respective lawmakers.

According to Roj Nath Pandey, spokesperson for the Secretariat, it is up to the lawmakers to decide whether they want revised emblems or or continue to have the ones that have already been distributed.

Designed by octogenarian artiste Tek Bir Mukhiya, District Small and Cottage Industries, Lalitpur was asked to prepare 350 badges.

However, the emblem became an object of ridicule, with members of the public as well as lawmakers themselves saying it failed to uphold the spirit with a distorted map of the country and the national flag. Many called it a clumsy piece of work.

“We decided to return them after criticism that they are flawed,” Pandey told the Post.

Issuing a press statement on Wednesday, the Secretariat blamed the manufacturer for the clumsy work and has said it is committed to providing new badges that depict the national map and the national flag accurately.

The new emblems for the lawmakers were made to show the new Nepal map that the Oli administration published on May 2o. Subsequently, the map, depicting Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura as Nepali territories, was endorsed by the federal parliament.

Nepal’s move of adopting a new map came in response to India’s inauguration of a road link via Lipulekh to Kailash Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

A total of Rs 2 million was spent for the new badges at the rate of Rs 5,527.86 for each of them with Rs 2,500 as the fee for the craftsmen.

Though the District Cottage and Small Industries is ready to rework for free, there are still differences on who will bear the cost of the gold needed to put a new map in the emblem.

Ganesh Raut, who took charge of manufacturing, said around 82.5 gram of gold will be needed which will cost around Rs 670,000. Each emblem has one tola (around 11.5 grams) of silver and plating of two lal (each lal is around one tenth of a gram) of gold.

Dashrath Dhamala, an information officer at the Secretariat, said the manufacturer should bear the cost of the gold. However, officials at the Cottage and Small Industries want the Secretariat to take the responsibility of the cost.

“The director general at the Department of the Cottage and Small Industries is holding talks with the general secretary at the Secretariat to resolve the issue,” Raut told the Post.