CA prolongs discussion on “Revised Bill”

Kathmandu, September 11

The ongoing clause-wise discussion on the ‘Revised Bill’ of the constitution at the Constituent Assembly would continue till Sunday.

At the end of today’s CA meeting, Chairman of the CA Subas Chandra Nembang said the ongoing clause-wise discussions would continue on Sunday as well. He said the next CA meeting has been scheduled for 11:30 am Sunday.

Following the three-party decision to halt the CA process for two days to bring the agitating parties to the talks table, the CA has postponed its voting process and prolonged the discussions on the bill by one more day.

Yesterday, the CA had removed the names of several CA members to begin voting process from 2 pm today, but the CA members were surprised when the chairman called their names for discussion on the “Revised Bill” of the new constitution.

Addressing the meeting, CA member Amar Bahadur Thapa said he was surprised when the names that had been removed from the list yesterday were called again for discussion on the bill today.

Several CA members urged the CA and the leaders to bring the disgruntled parties on board the constitution drafting process, while others demanded that the process should not be prolonged.

NC CA member Tarini Dutta Chataut said the parties outside the CA should also be brought on board the process.

Another CA member Dulari Harijan urged the leaders to address the genuine demands of the agitating parties but not delay the new constitution on any pretext.

UCPN-M CA member Lalita Kumar Regmi said the genuine demands of Tharus should be addressed and Karnali should be declared a special autonomous region. He also demanded proportional representation of all disadvantaged groups in the legislative bodies of the state.

CA member Bharat Kumar Sah expressed concern about weak status of the provinces in the new constitution. Claiming that more than 29 people were killed in as many days of the movement in Tarai Madhes NC CA member Ram Krishna Yadav urged the government to hold dialogue with the agitators soon.

On the other hand UML CA member Bhim Acharya and NC CA member Chandra Kanta Bhandari said the constitution drafting process should not be stalled in the name of talks with the agitating parties and groups.