NC fails to rein in lawmakers over separate amendments

KATHMANDU, Sept 7: Although the CPN-UML has made all its Constituent Assembly (CA) members withdraw their independent amendment proposals to the constitution bill, the Nepali Congress (NC) has failed to rein in its CA members who want to file independent amendment proposals of their own.

The top leaders of the NC have failed to persuade the second-rung leaders to withdraw their proposals as they remain deeply divided whether to hold talks with the Madhes-based parties before the promulgation of the new statute.A majority of second-rung NC leaders maintain that it will be counter-productive for the party if the agitating Madhes-based parties are not brought on board the statute-making process.

Influential NC CA members such as Bimalendra Nidhi, Dr Shekhar Koirala, Arjun Narasingh KC, Dhan Raj Gurung and Nabindra Raj Joshi are in favor of holding talks to bring the agitating parties on board the constitution-making process. "There is no alternative to talks. The ongoing agitations in Madhes and Tharuhat areas should be addressed through talks. But those talks should be held on the condition of not holding up the new statute," said NC CA member Nabindra Raj Joshi.

Dissenting leaders including Dr Koirala, KC, Shankar Bhandari and Nagendra Kumal even registered independent amendment proposals against the decision of the party to file only joint amendment proposals after holding talks with other parties in the CA. Although Bhandari chose to withdraw his amendment proposal, the others have been adamant on leaving the independent proposals intact.

Another NC CA member, Dhan Raj Gurung, argued that NC's top leadership had failed to make an objective analysis of the agitations by Tharu groups and Madhes-centric parties. "The top leadership of NC and the UML has failed to properly understand the situation. We should be able to make certain compromises as we move ahead on the path of change," he said.

Gurung said that it will be against the interests of the party and the nation to promulgate a constitution without bringing the Madhes-based parties on board the process. "This situation would not have arisen had our top leadership held discussions with the party's CA members from Tarai-Madhes. There is a grand design to push the country towards a fresh series of violent conflicts. Our party leadership has failed to understand this," he further said. All NC CA members representing Madhes are against expediting the constitution making process without addressing the key demands of Madhesi people.

The Madhes-based parties mainly demand withdrawal of the decision to deploy army personnel, implementation of past agreements, declaration of those killed as martyrs, and a halt to alleged police atrocities. While many of the past agreements reached with Madhes-based parties have been implemented already, the leaders maintain that the government can reach an agreement to implement them in a time-bound manner.

CA member Joshi said that the constitution is a dynamic document and there is nothing that cannot be addressed over time. "Parties should try to reach agreement with the agitating parties through negotiations. I think their demands can still be addressed through the amendment proposals to the constitution bill that have already been registered at the CA," he further said.

Related story

Proposed amendments to unregistered Acts spark controversy amid...