Kathmandu, Nov 2: House of Representatives (HoR) member Surya Prasad Dhakal has said people’s representatives have to deliver by remaining within the people’s sphere and those holding these positions are widely perceived as people’s development partners and friends in times of need. The lawmaker who represents the Banke-1 on behalf of the CPN (UML) believes that contributing to enactment of laws by incorporating the people’s concerns, facilitating to ensure more budget allocation to their respective constituencies and establishing a cordial and lively relations with the citizens are major responsibilities of the legislature. “The public largely sees their representatives as their key development partners.” He was talking to RSS under its regular series ‘Lawmaker with the RSS’. According to him, lawmakers are not solely responsible of lack of a noticeable progress in the enactment of laws. The performance of the House largely depends on the business allocated to it, and the government holds the authority to allocate business to the parliament. He criticized the government for not ‘prioritizing’ development initiatives and ‘failing’ to take strong measures against the rising prices of daily commodities. He also urged the opposition to raise their voices on these issues. The lawmaker from the major opposition said his party in principally and practically is not in favour of obstructing the House, but sometimes it is compelled to do it over some specific concerns of the party. Responding to a question about over the ‘engagements’ of legislators in smaller development projects, he said lawmakers are primarily responsible for facilitating the enactment of laws and it should be realised in practice. “But this is missing in the context of Nepal.” Dhakal pointed out that election candidates often make development promises to woo voters during elections, and they are morally obligated to advocate for these promises. This practice cannot be dismantled by sole efforts of a lawmaker. Born on April 18, 1972 in Banke, Dhakal had begun his political in 2046 with the association with the All Nepal National Free Students Union ( ANNFSU). He firmly believes that people’s representatives should maintain decorum while speaking in the parliament, ensuring that their remarks are decent. —