The meeting of the event and Technology Committee under the House of Representatives on Sunday endorsed the knowledge Technology Bill with a majority.
Out of 131 clauses within the Bill, amendments to 36 are made, and eight points on which participating lawmakers put different views, are under the amendment process, said the Committee’s President Kalyani Kumari Khadka.
Formulation of the Bill was in line with the constitution and democratic norms, said Minister for Communications and knowledge Technology, Gokul Prasad Baskota. “The law is for all. It doesn’t belong to only the ruling party. There are rumors making the rounds that the Bill has contents that restrict the rights of citizens. One can criticize the govt,” he said.
In the meeting, lawmakers from the ruling Nepal Communist Party involved the passage of the Bill with amendments to its 36 points. Likewise, lawmakers of main opposition Nepali Congress demanded the removal of clause 88 and clause 91 to 94, which they claimed are against freedom of the people and therefore the spirit of the constitution.
He blamed that the bill, brought against sentiments of the constitution, was against democratic norms and values.
Likewise, lawmaker Rangamati Shahi objected the bill, saying the bill doesn’t allow discuss government’s wrongdoings while Top Bahadur Rayamajhi said that the bill was delivered to make information technology systematic but news and opinion should be respected.
Similarly, Ganesh Kumar Pahadi said that a lot of people became a victim of a lack of another law to form science and technology issues systematic.
Lawmakers– Yagyaraj Sunuwar, Damodar Bhandari, Kedar Sigdel, Asha Kumari BK, and Lilanath Shrestha stressed the necessity of approving the bill.
