Questions Raised in Parliament Over Constitutional Basis for Deployment of Nepal Army

Dragon Media Correspondent

Questions have been raised in the House of Representatives over the constitutional and legal basis for the recent deployment of the Nepal Army in different parts of the country.

Speaking during Tuesday’s meeting of the House, Gopal Sharma, a lawmaker from the opposition Nepali Communist Party, sought clarification from the government over the deployment of the army during the removal of squatter settlements in Kathmandu and amid tensions in districts including Sunsari and Siraha.

Sharma said the Constitution and existing laws provide specific procedures and grounds for mobilizing the Nepal Army, and questioned under which constitutional and legal provisions the recent deployments had been carried out.

“We have constitutional provisions for deploying the Nepal Army. We also have legal provisions. On what constitutional basis and under what legal provisions is the Nepal Army being deployed so easily? The dignity of the army is being diminished,” Sharma told Parliament.

The Nepal Army had conducted patrols during operations to clear squatter settlements in Kathmandu. More recently, army personnel were also deployed after curfews were imposed in Sunsari, Siraha and other districts following disputes and tensions.

Sharma argued that the use of the army should not become a routine administrative response and called on the government to clarify the constitutional justification for such deployments.

The Nepali Communist Party has demanded that Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who also holds the defence portfolio, provide an explanation to Parliament on the matter.