House of Representatives

On December 14, 2022, Sumana Shrestha was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives. The official confirmation came from the Election Commission of Nepal, publishing the certified list of representatives elected through the proportional representation system.^[2] Just eight days later, on December 22, 2022, she solemnly took her oath in the Nepal Bhasa, along with other members of the House of Representatives, officially stepping into her role as a Member of Parliament. A week later, in a candid article, in her characteristic no-nonsense style, she suggested that the sudden called meeting preceding the oath-taking ceremony 'could have been an email,' reflecting her belief in the value of efficient and purposeful government proceedings.^[3]

Sumana gained national recognition after her first parliamentary speech on January 21, 2023. In that speech, she presented herself as a management consultant and proposed a Parliamentary Calendar to enhance parliamentary efficiency.^[4] Her concluding remarks in the speech, where she called out her fellow MPs for referring to women MPs as 'cheli', garnered increased attention and made national headlines.^[5]

As she continued her parliamentary tenure, Sumana Shrestha actively engaged in amending bills. To date, she has put forth amendments to nine bills presented in the House of Representatives. Her journey into proposing amendments commenced with the Food Hygiene and Quality Bill 2077. On February 15, 2023, the very day the bill was tabled, she raised questions about the supporting data for the legislation. Just three days later, on February 18, 2023, she submitted a comprehensive set of 34 proposed amendments to the Federal Parliament Secretariat.^[6] These amendments primarily underscored the necessity of expert participation in various committees, streamlining business procedures for enterprises, and categorizing businesses based on their capital. In formulating these amendments, she actively sought input from the general public and concerned-stakeholders, fostering greater public engagement in the legislative process. Through her official social media accounts, she issued an open call for suggestions on amendments, a practice she has consistently maintained for every bill to date.

Subsequently, on February 22, 2023, the Bill designed to amend some acts related to Prevention of Money Laundering and Promotion of Business Environment-2079 was introduced in the House. This development occurred in the backdrop of Nepal facing the risk of being greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).^[7] By February 26, she had presented a proposal for six amendments to the Federal Parliament Secretariat. Her amendments primarily focused on broadening the definition of 'human trafficking,' distinguishing between voluntary human smuggling and involuntary transportation and trafficking, legalizing unaccounted money up to a specific limit, and decriminalizing the first-time use of 'hundi' by migrant workers and their families.^[8]

Approximately three weeks later, on March 19, the House of Representatives Rules were presented for discussion within the House. On March 22, Sumana put forward a set of five amendments to these regulations. Her key proposed changes encompassed the introduction of a compulsory parliamentary calendar, the establishment of rest hours during prolonged sessions, the online publication of registered bills and proposed amendments, and an extension of the time allotted for members to propose amendments. Regrettably, only two out of the five suggestions were accepted and integrated into the Rules: the online publication of bills and amendments. The remaining amendments, including the implementation of a mandatory parliamentary calendar, were rejected by the majority.^[9]

Following that, on March 26, 2023, the Constitutional Council Act Amendment Bill 2079 was presented in the House. Within a brief 72-hour window, three days later, Sumana registered an amendment addressing meeting formalities and procedures. Additionally, she suggested an alternative approach to the selection of candidates for constitutional bodies, emphasizing their qualifications and based on open competition.^[10]

A fortnight later, on April 7, the Archive Preservation Act Amendment Bill 2077 was introduced in the House. By April 10, Sumana had submitted a comprehensive five-point amendment to the Bill. Her amendments centered on prioritizing the digitization of archives, safeguarding documents against fire and natural disasters, and establishing accountability among archive officials.^[11]

Following their passage in the National Assembly, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act Amendment Bill 2076 and the Corruption Prevention Act Amendment Bill 2076 were successively presented in the House. On April 23, 2023, Sumana submitted a detailed twelve-point amendment proposal for the CIAA Act Amendment Bill, with a primary focus on enhancing transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption measures to improve the efficiency of investigations.^[12] Similarly, in collaboration with ten other members of Parliament from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, she registered a comprehensive seventeen-point amendment for the Corruption Prevention Act Amendment Bill. These proposed changes encompassed the precise definition of policy decisions, reforming the National Vigilance Center, and the removal of the statute of limitations for filing corruption cases.^[13]

Sumana had been consistently registering amendments once bills were introduced in the House until the Some Nepal Acts Amendment Bill for 2080 was registered in the Parliament Secretariat. However, with this particular bill, she took an extraordinary step by submitting a motion of protest to vehemently oppose it, arguing that the legislation was unconstitutional and failed to deliver justice to the victims of political crimes.^[14] The bill, in question, granted the government the authority to withdraw pending cases and provided the means to dismiss criminal charges against political parties, groups, and their leaders and members implicated in serious crimes.

On July 7, 2023, she formally registered the motion of protest, and on July 16, she addressed the parliament with uncharacteristic fervor and emotion. She raised critical questions, asking whether the nation was prepared to grant amnesty to those responsible for burning people alive in brick kilns, or for the horrific incidents of dragging innocent individuals from ambulances and killing them, and for those who committed fatal acts using spears. She argued that the bill perpetuated the criminalization of politics and the politicization of criminal acts, demanding the immediate withdrawal of such a flawed piece of legislation.^[15] However, her motion of protest against the Bill faced rejection by the majority of the House on July 16, 2023, thereby allowing the government to proceed with the tabling of the bill.

The Bill was tabled for discussion in the House on September 4, 2023. Within the 72-hour timeframe, on September 7, Sumana submitted a comprehensive twelve-point amendment. Among her proposals was a reiterated call for the removal of point 64 from the Bill, which she deemed 'unconstitutional.' Additionally, her amendments aimed to reform university structures through modifications to various university Acts, enhance the judicial service by amending the Judicial Service Act, and amend the Environment Protection Act.^[16]

She also proposed amendments to the Nepal University Bill 2079. This bill had received approval from the National Assembly and was presented in the House on July 16, 2023. Her amendments, submitted on July 19, included recommendations for changing the university board and structures. Furthermore, she put forward the idea of prohibiting all student unions associated with political parties.

On October 11, 2023, Sumana, along with 16 fellow members of the House of Representatives from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, submitted an extensive package of 132 amendments to the School Education Bill 2080. Notably, her amendments incorporated schedules and references, marking a distinctive approach within the framework of the Nepali parliament.^[17]

Parliamentary Calendar

From the outset, Sumana has been a vocal advocate for the establishment of a mandatory parliamentary calendar within the House of Representatives. She articulated her stance in a published article on January 18, 2023, emphasizing the critical role that good governance should play, beginning with the House itself.^[18] Drawing from the practices of various foreign nations, she underscored the significance of such a calendar, highlighting its capacity to strengthen democracy within the Parliament and revamp parliamentary procedures. Additionally, Sumana called for active citizen involvement at various levels to turn this proposal into a reality. On that very day, Sumana took to Twitter, where she shared a visual chart comparing the existing system with one incorporating a parliamentary calendar. She also detailed the advantages of adopting the latter approach.^[19]

Three days later, on January 21, during her maiden parliamentary address, Sumana focused on promoting the idea of a parliamentary calendar.^[20] She emphasized the calendar's value, underlining the need for reform and good governance that the MPs had promised. She urged them to take the first step in governance reform by adopting the calendar. Her speech captured attention, becoming headline news and gaining significant attention on social media.

Sumana's commitment to the Parliamentary Calendar went beyond her initial efforts. She consistently authored media articles and participated in interviews to emphasize the vital importance of such a calendar.^[21] On January 30, 2023, she took a proactive step by presenting a model format of the parliamentary calendar during a meeting of the Parliamentary Drafting Committee.^[22] Nearly two months later, on March 22, she further pursued her goal by submitting an amendment proposal to the House of Representatives Rules 2079, proposing the implementation of a mandatory parliamentary calendar. Unfortunately, her proposal faced rejection by the majority.^[23] Nevertheless, up to the present day, she has been at the forefront of advocating for the implementation of the parliamentary calendar on various occasions and in different forums.

Education Reform

Sumana has been deeply involved in discussions, dialogues, and initiatives concerning education reform. As a member of the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives and the head of the Education Department at Rastriya Swatantra Party, she has taken a prominent role in shaping policy discussions on education reform.

Sumana consistently raised students' concerns about the challenges they face when obtaining the Non-Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Education and the equivalence certificate from Tribhuvan University, both within the parliamentary chambers and in public discussions.^[24] Furthermore, she introduced an amendment to the Some Nepal Act Amendment Bill 2080 aimed at streamlining the equivalence procedures. In this amendment, she suggested an addition to the University Grant Commission Act of 2050, which essentially eliminates the compulsory requirement for equivalence assessments for degrees from the top 100 universities worldwide.^[25] Subsequently, Tribhuvan University has revised its equivalence procedures to simplify the process for graduates from the top 500 universities according to the Times Higher Education Rankings.^[26]

She has been actively conducting research and gathering feedback from both current students and alumni of Tribhuvan University, aiming to better understand the challenges they encountered during their university journey. On July 23, 2023, she initiated a Google form to solicit student experiences, receiving an overwhelming response of nearly one thousand submissions. This valuable data formed the basis of her inquiries when Tribhuvan University officials were later summoned to a meeting of the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives.

On October 11, 2023, Sumana, alongside 16 of her fellow MPs from the Rastriya Swatantra Party in the House of Representatives, jointly put forth an extensive set of 132 proposed amendments to the School Education Bill for 2080.

Bill Hackathon

Sumana has consistently advocated for the direct involvement of the general public and citizens in the legislative process. She proposed a concept called the "Bill Hackathon" in an article published on February 16, 2023.^[27] Following this idea, the Sumana Shrestha Secretariat organized a Bill Hackathon focused on an older Information Technology Bill from 2075, which took place on March 28, 2023. In preparation for the event, she created a Google form to gather input on issues within the IT sector, aiming to identify necessary changes, additions, or amendments to relevant laws and policies. She also gathered information on all Acts and Cabinet decisions related to the IT industry, as well as international benchmarks for IT policies.^[28]

Nepal as a tech-hub

Sumana has outlined one of her key priorities on her website, which is the creation of tech jobs.^[29] She expressed on Twitter that the IT Bill Hackathon marked the initial stride toward realizing her primary objective of positioning Nepal as a global tech hub.^[28] She further advanced this vision through published media articles, such as the one on April 14, 2023, where she laid out a strategic path for establishing Nepal as a prominent tech hub.^[30]