President issues two science ordinances as Congress resists land ordinance

The two measures issued on 16 October are the Nepal Academy of Science, Technology and Innovation Ordinance, 2026 and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ordinance, 2026, according to Dharma Raj Gaire, assistant spokesperson at the Office of the President.

The President also authenticated the bill on the establishment and operation of a National Forensic Science Laboratory, which had already passed the Federal Parliament. He did so under Article 113(2) of the constitution.

Congress wants a parliamentary debate

The Nepali Congress, meanwhile, said any change to land law should come only after detailed deliberation in parliament. Speaking at a press conference at Singha Durbar on Friday, Basana Thapa, chief whip of the party's parliamentary group, argued that amending legislation by ordinance sits uneasily with parliamentary democracy.

Thapa also questioned a shift in the position of Law Minister Sobita Gautam, asking why an amendment Gautam had earlier proposed was once considered right and is now considered wrong. She said the party had opposed a land ordinance before and had not changed its view, and that the proposed changes should be examined clause by clause in the House. “Our position was firm then, and it remains the same today,” she said, as quoted by Onlinekhabar.

Land ordinances have proved contentious before. In February 2025, the then government stepped back from a land-related ordinance after objections from within its own coalition, Kantipur reported at the time. The current government, led by the Rastriya Swatantra Party, commands a majority in the House of Representatives.

Sources

Onlinekhabar English (external link); Onlinekhabar English (external link); Kantipur (external link); The Kathmandu Post (external link)