NA lawmakers demand protection of BP Museum, Pushpalal’s ancestral home

Kathmandu : In a meeting of the National Assembly (NA), the upper house of Federal Parliament, today, lawmakers drew the attention of the government towards its apathy to protect the museum established in commemoration of first people’s elected Prime Minister Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala and the ancestral home of Nepal Communist Party’s founding chair Pushpalal Shrestha. 
Speaking in a special hour of the session, Dinanath Sharma said the BP Museum was in need of proper management and Pushpalal’s ancestral home (where he was born) based in Bhangeri of Ramechhap damaged by the 2015 earthquake is yet to be rebuilt. As he said, the Bhangeri folks are very sad at the government’s apathy to restore the house of leader Pushpalal. They wish to see the restoration of the house and its development as a museum. 
He demanded the government pay its much attention to the protection of all things associated with such historic people. 
Ramesh Jung Rayamajhi sought the resignation by the line minister to pave the way for the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to take action against those found guilty in the Nepal Airline Corporation (NAC)’s wide body aircrafts scam. As he claimed, a loan of Rs 56 billion was taken to leave the NAC bankrupt, seeking the government’s prompt response towards that end. 
Stating that the funds of Provident Employees’ Fund and Citizen Investment Trust was on the verge of being misused in the name of purchasing the aircrafts, he said the issue of corruption related to the wide body procurement had not only demoralized the line minister but also the parliament. 
Dhankumari Khatiwada said executive and judiciary failed to maintain their decorum by administering oath of office and secrecy Reshamlal Chaudhary, the accused in the Tikapaur carnage, as the House of Representative member. 
Ramlakhan Chamar said apprised the session that Chamar, Musahar and Badi community had remained excluded from the free MBBS scholarship quotas for poor students managed by the then Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel. 
Ram Narayan Bidari drew the government’s attention towards the need of protecting the Kulekhani lake in Makawanpur district, saying its vulnerability was increased by the April 25 Gorkha earthquake. He also stressed on the conservation of the Sisneri, Kulekhani and other watersheds in the area. 
Khimlal Bhattarai urged for reducing corruption to zero level and for raising the hopes of the people rather than presenting the positive activities of the government in negative light. Pramila Kumari called for increasing women participation in the committees of the Province Service Commission and improving the status of women in the Human Development Index. National Assembly chair Ganesh Prasad Timilsina directed the government to respond to the issues raised by the upper house lawmakers within five days. 
Proposal approved 
The meeting of the National Assembly today approved unanimously a proposal seeking consideration on the ‘Province Public Service Commission (Basis and Criteria Determination) Bill, 2075’. Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Bhanubhakta Dhakal, on behalf Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, presented the proposal in the meeting. The upper house will next meet at 1 pm on January 16.