Question of Transparency in Digital Parliament: MPs' Attendance Public, PM and Ministers' Hidden
On the 'Digital Parliament' website launched by the government, while the attendance of regular MPs is made public, the attendance details of the Prime Minister and Ministers are not shown. This has raised serious questions about the claims of transparency and accountability.
Kathmandu — Serious questions have been raised about transparency in the 'Digital Parliament' website itself, which the government launched with the objective of easily conveying the activities of the Federal Parliament to citizens.
Through the website, one can view details of parliamentary meetings, attendance of MPs, activities of parliamentary committees, and information related to acts, bills, and regulations presented in Parliament. The digital system has provided an opportunity for ordinary citizens to monitor the parliamentary activity of their representatives.
However, a surprising aspect has been seen on the website—while the attendance of regular MPs is made public, the attendance details of MPs who are the Prime Minister and Ministers are not shown.
Why is the parliamentary attendance of MPs elected by the people not made public after they become ministers or the Prime Minister? Why can citizens not get information on how many days they were present in the House and how many meetings they were absent from?
When the Digital Parliament, which was started with claims of transparency and accountability, itself hides the attendance of those in the government's leadership, a question has arisen—was the Digital Parliament made to inform the people or to cover up the details of the powerful?