Kathmandu . National Assembly Chairperson Narayan Prasad Dahal has directed the government to implement the Report on the Need for Legal Provisions Related to the Rights and Development of Dalit Community, 2081 BS. Chair Dahal directed the Ministry and bodies concerned to implement the Report after discussions on it in the meeting of the National Assembly (NA), the upper house of the Federal Parliament, today. Chairperson of the Development, Economic Affairs and Good Governance Committee in the NA, Kamala Panta, presented the document in the meeting. Responding to the queries raised by the lawmakers on the report, Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Raj Kumar Gupta, said that the Report would be implemented as the matter has been included in the government's annual policy and programme and the Committee has also directed to implement the rights of Dalits. He also informed that preparations were underway to present the Dalit Authority Bill in the current session as it has been directed to present it in the current session. Minister Gupta said that the draft of the bill and other documents have been sent to the National Dalit Commission for its consent.

Taking part in the discussions on the report, lawmaker Narayan Dutta Mishra stressed the need to redefine the caste system on the basis of work. Lawmaker Bishnu Bahadur Bishwakarma said the report has been submitted for the socio-economic uplift of the Dalit community as the law ordered by the Supreme Court to be made within three months has not yet been formulated. Lawmaker Krishna Adhikari demanded that the National Dalit Authority Bill be brought soon. Meanwhile, the Development, Economic Affairs and Good Governance Committee has suggested the government to form the Dalit Development Authority for the rights and uplift of the Dalit community and to implement it effectively. In today's meeting of the National Assembly, Committee President Kamala Devi Panta presented a proposal seeking discussion on the 'Report on the Need for Legal Provisions Related to the Rights and Development of the Dalit Community- 2081 BS'. On the occasion, she said the committee had given suggestions for the formation of the Dalit Development Authority. Panta shared that the Dalit Development Bill would be forwarded from the current session and a report had been submitted to the government with suggestions for the formation of the Authority. She clarified that the proposal was made to ensure the rights of Dalits through a more robust mechanism for effective implementation of the existing laws related to Dalits. She further said that the resolution implementation monitoring sub-committee formed under the Committee was active for continuous monitoring and study of the implementation of the issues mentioned in the resolution motion approved by the National Assembly on March 22, 2023 regarding ensuring social, economic, cultural, political equality, prosperity and social justice by ending the discrimination and oppression of the Dalit community. According to the Report, dalits constitute about 14 per cent of the population i.e. about four million. The literacy rate among the Dalit community is 83.8 per cent. Landless Dalits constitute 13.6 per cent of the population. Dalits constitute only 2.50 per cent of the total employees in the civil service. At present, Dalits have 7.8 per cent representation in the federal parliament. NA passes proposal related to Constitutional Council Bill Today's meeting of the National Assembly has unanimously approved the proposal received from the House of Representatives with a message to consider the Constitutional Council (Rights, Duties, Responsibilities and Procedures) (First Amendment) Bill, 2079 BS. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung presented the proposal on behalf of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in the meeting. Responding to the questions raised in the discussion earlier, Minister Gurung said that a provision has been included in the Bill stipulating that the meeting of the Council would be considered to have fulfilled the quorum if at least 50 percent of the Council's existing members are present in the meeting. According to him, the provision requiring all the existing Council members to be present in the meeting has been retained in the bill. In the meeting, National Assembly Secretary Dr Surendra Aryal tabled the messages received from the House of Representatives regarding the 'Bill to amend some Nepal Acts, 2080' and the 'Customs Bill, 2080'. The next meeting of the National Assembly will be held at 1:15 pm on Monday.