The Speakers and deputy Speakers from the federal parliament and provincial assemblies, as well as the chair and vice-chair of the National Assembly, have drawn the attention of President Ramchandra Paudel to resource cuts by the federal government.

Concluding that the decision of the Sushila Karki administration was an interference in the jurisdiction of the federal and provincial legislatures, they urged the President to draw the Karki government’s attention to the need for consultations before taking any decisions relating to them.

Prior to their meeting with the head of state, officials from the federal and provincial parliaments concluded that the government’s decision to cut personal assistants to federal and provincial lawmakers was an attack on their jurisdiction.

In its bid to trim the budget approved by the erstwhile KP Sharma Oli government, the interim government last month decided to cut the funding for the personal assistants of members of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies. There are two houses under the federal parliament, with the National Assembly having 59 members and the 275-strong House of Representatives.

The seven provincial assemblies have a total of 550 members. As the government has decided not to withdraw the personal secretarial facilities of the seven provincial Speakers, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairperson of the National Assembly, the total number of lawmakers losing their personal secretaries stands at 875.

“The Speakers and Deputy Speakers from the federal and provincial assemblies drew the President’s attention to the principle of separation of powers,” said Ekram Giri, spokesperson for the secretariat of the federal parliament.

Clause 25 of the Remuneration and Facilities of Federal Parliament Officials and Members, 2016, allows the government to amend the schedule in the Nepal Gazette, provided such changes do not negatively impact the officials or members.

However, invoking this clause, the government revised the schedule, resulting in the termination of personal secretaries and staff privileges for deputy speakers of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly, chairs of parliamentary committees, chief whips, whips, and lawmakers. The decision has irked the members of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies.

Before drawing Paudel’s attention, Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire, National Assembly Chairperson Narayan Prasad Dahal, Deputy Speaker Indira Rana, National Assembly Vice-chairperson Bimala Ghimire and senior officials at the parliament secretariat, on Monday, expressed their serious concerns over the staff cuts.

They had told Karki that all three organs of the state—the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary—must function with checks and balances, coordination, and consultation.

During the meeting, Speaker Ghimire had questioned the legal grounds on which the government made the decision. The officials pointed out that while the law allows changes to the schedule, provided they do not affect the officials or members, the government-effected changes hit them directly.

Chairperson Dahal also expressed dissatisfaction, stating that although the House of Representatives is currently dissolved, the National Assembly remains functional, and staff cuts would immediately affect its work. He urged the prime minister to review the decision, noting that the National Assembly has four thematic committees whose work would suffer without adequate staff.

In addition to personal secretaries, parliamentary officials, including opposition leaders, chief whips, and party whips, have also been receiving staff support, a provision which has now been terminated.

According to officials at the parliament’s secretariat, Prime Minister Karki stated that the government’s goal was to enforce fiscal discipline, but assured that she was serious about addressing parliamentary concerns. She promised to hold discussions with the finance minister and relevant officials.

Although personal secretaries have been removed, deputy speakers and vice-chairpersons still retain other facilities, including one computer operator, two drivers, two office assistants, a computer with a printer, two bicycles, monthly hospitality expenses of Rs2,000, one personal security officer, and one guard each.

In the National Assembly, the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties and the chief whip of the ruling party have also lost their entitlement to a personal secretary (second-class gazetted officer) each. However, the facilities for the Speaker and the National Assembly chairperson remain unchanged.

Both retain one first-class, one second-class, and one third-class personal secretary, as well as one computer operator, two first-level drivers, and two first-level office assistants. They also get a computer with a printer, two bicycles, a monthly hospitality allowance of Rs25,000, one security officer, one guard, and 10 army personnel each.

As a part of its austerity measures, the Karki government decided to impose budget cuts at both the federal and provincial levels.

Its decision to cut the provincial budget was revoked following the objection from the chief ministers last week. The Speakers and deputies from the federal and provincial levels are expecting revocation of the decision to remove their assistance.