The Bhutanese Leading the way.
His Majesty the King graced the closing ceremony of the 3rd session of the 2nd parliament on 20th June.
Speaker Jigme Zangpo expressed his gratitude on behalf of the par-liament to His Majesty the King for gracing the occasion. He said, “In this session, the National Assembly (NA) has deliberated and sent the bio-safety bill of Bhutan, the local government member entitlement bill, the narcotic drugs, psychotropic’s substances and substance abuse bill, Tenancy bill and the parliament entitlement (Amendment) bill to the National Council (NC).”
He informed the house that the NC (Amendment) Bill and the To-bacco Control (Amendment) Bill were received from the NC, were de-liberated by the NA and have been re-transmitted to the NC.
He said, the House could not reach consensus on some of the clauses of the Local Government (Amend-ment) Bill and the NA (Amendment) Bill which were received for re-deliberations. Therefore, in accordance to Section 8 of Article 13 of the Constitution, the Bills will be submitted to His Majesty.
He said, The Right to Information Bill was deliberated by the National Assembly in the 2nd Session and was transmitted to the National Council. However, the National Council could not deliberate on the Bill given time constraints. As per the provisions of the Legislative Rules of Procedure, it was recommended that the Bill be withdrawn. However, the National Assembly resolved that the Bill will be submitted to His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo as per the provisions of the Constitution.
“I would like to inform that in order to successfully implement the developmental activities in the 11th Plan, a total of Nu. 40,355.837mn has been passed towards budget appropriation for the financial year 2014-15,” he said
He informed that considering the Annual Anti Corruption Report and the Annual Audit Report presented for the year 2013, it is apparent that the ministries and agencies have done a good work in compliance to the laws. Further, as compared to the past, corruption cases have drastically declined mainly because of the support rendered by the people and the government. However, many cases of unresolved ir¬regularities related to embezzlement have also been reported. Therefore, it is imperative for the relevant ministries and agencies to make concerted efforts in resolving the irregularities related to embezzlement.
He said, recently, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi was invit¬ed to the country by the Royal Government under the noble leadership of His Majesty. The Prime Minister of India along with senior Indian officials not only visited the country but also delivered a historical and valuable address to the Joint Session of Parliament. The Indian PM expressed his appreciation for the Bhutanese democracy which has been strengthened in a very short span of time. Modi also expressed his appreciation for the developmental philosophy of Gross National Happiness and the role played by Bhutan in combating global warming.
He said, the Prime Minister of In¬dia conveyed the support of the Government of India to double the scholarships to Bhutanese students and initiate E-Library in Bhutan. He also conveyed his support towards tourism which would build a network between Bhutan and North-Eastern States of India.
The Speaker said that the Parlia-ment of Bhutan would like to express its gratitude to the Prime Minister of India as his visit has further strengthened the Indo-Bhutan ties and would also benefit the security and sovereignty of Bhutan.
Further, the members also moved the motion of thanks to His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo for all the Royal initiatives undertaken for the happiness and wellbeing of the country and the people.
The ceremony concluded with of¬fering of Tashi Moenlam for the long life and good health of His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo, Her Majesty the Gyaltsuen and members of the Royal Family.
