Leaders said the vote on the bill was postponed for Friday to settle the issues through talks. [beak]
Over 100 lawmakers, most of them Janajatis, had registered amendments to the bill, saying the proposed expert panel should not have the right to usurp the jurisdiction of the CA state restructuring committee which had already passed a 14-province ethnic-based model.
“During a meeting with top leaders on Wednesday, we argued that the proposed panel should not negate the decisions of the CA state restructuring committee. They have assured us to address our demand,” said UML lawmaker Prithvi Subba Gurung who has signed the amendment proposal registered by 78 CA members led by Maoist lawmaker Suresh Ale Magar.
Ale Magar has proposed that the jurisdiction of the panel should be limited to “assisting with the recommendations of the report prepared by the CA Committee on State Restructuring and Distribution of State Powers.”
Gurung argued that the Janajati lawmakers will vote against the bill if presented as it is. He argued, “How can it be that the experts can perform the task which we lawmakers cannot?”
Similarly, the Maoist hardline faction led by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya also stood against the passage of the bill.
The standing committee meeting held at Singha Durbar Wednesday afternoon could not take any decision after the Baidya faction told Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal that he could get the bill endorsed in parliament only on condition that the panel would not infringe upon the jurisdiction of the CA committee.
Some leaders from the party hard-line faction were preparing a torch rally outside the CA building in Baneshwar in case the bill got endorsed.
Khanal tunes in with Baidya, Dahal for going ahead
An all-party meeting finally decided to postpone the move to table the bill for final endorsement after UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal demanded that his party needs intra-party consultations prior to going ahead with the bill.
“The process was disrupted due to the UML stance,” said Maoist leader Barshaman Pun.
According to sources, Dahal and Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai insisted on moving ahead despite serious opposition from Baidya. “But Khanal spoiled everything,” said the source.
NC for moving ahead
The Nepali Congress (NC) has unanimous voice in favor of the bill.
Five lawmakers from the party -- Kumar Rai, Sita Gurung, Lila Subba, Indra Bahadur Gurung and Urmila Thapa -- had signed the amendment proposal forwarded by the group of 78 lawmakers led by Ale Magar.
NC Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire had informed Speaker Subash Nembang that the five lawmakers from the party had withdrawn their support for amendment. The NC had issued a whip in favor of the bill. “We were absolutely in favor of endorsing the bill today. The five lawmakers from our party had already withdrawn their support to the amendment and our stance was that the bill should have been endorsed immediately,” said Ghimire.
The CA members from the Janajati caucus took objection to the content of the bill, saying the expert panel should not have the power to infringe on the decisions of the CA State Restructuring Committee. The CA committee has decided to propose 14 provinces, most of them based on the ethnic identity of the dominant groups of the various regions.
The leaderships of the major parties had agreed to form a powerful expert panel to assist the task of state restructuring after a constitutional state restructuring commission to make recommendations to the CA State Restructuring Committee could not materialize.
Following the recent seven-point peace deal, the government registered the amendment bill in parliament on Nov 4.
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