The ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party is preparing to depute its Members of Parliament to the ministries to support ministers, and also to get updates on their functioning, to ease public grievances and to help in attaining the set goals. The decision will not apply to the Prime Minister’s Office.

RSP spokesperson Manish Jha confirmed to the Post that the party is sending five members of parliament each to all ministries. The terms of reference (ToR) of such deployment is in its final stage.

As such deputation is uncommon, it could potentially create tussles in the ministries with the MPs likely to put pressure on the ministers. The move might even be the party’s attempt to check the activities of ministers. However, Jha defended the move saying that the party had practised it in the past too.

The RSP government led by Balendra Shah has released a 100-point roadmap. The government now feels pressure to implement the roadmap. Prime Minister Shah also held interaction with lawmakers from different provinces on Monday and Tuesday.

The party, when it joined the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government after the 2022 parliamentary elections, did a similar kind of practice. Jha shared that Hari Dhakal, Ganesh Parajuli and himself worked at the Ministry of Labour when Dol Prasad Aryal was the labour minister.

“We previously had this practice when managing four ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs. Last time, we sent central committee members and members of parliament to the ministries. However this time we are sending only members of parliament,” said Jha.

Having won an overwhelming majority from the March 5 elections, the RSP has 182 members in the lower house. Most of them are new. The party wants to groom the MPs so that they can specialise in respective sectors, Jha said.

"Frankly speaking, this is a kind of on-the-job training. Based on that experience, we are preparing to assign MPs to ministries this time as well. This will make it easier to address the demands, issues, and problems faced by the common people," said Jha.

Though members of parliament, some senior leaders of the party including Secretariat members will not be deputed.

According to the plan, the party is sending five members of parliament—two having expertise in their related fields and three from different geographical regions.

According to party leaders, out of the five MPs assigned to each ministry, two will be designated as subject experts. Their role will involve facilitating discussions with experts, staff, and other team members. The remaining three MPs will facilitate based on geographical considerations. The party is preparing lists for deputation soon after the House convenes on Thursday, Jha said.

MPs elected from different regions will listen to the problems of the people from their provinces and districts, and play a role in finding solutions.

Another central committee member said that MPs will play a key role in gathering problems from across the country, for the government to solve them. The MPs assigned to the ministries will serve as a bridge, Jha said. One of the objectives is to improve service delivery.