Amresh Singh registers nine-pt note of dissent

KATHMANDU: Amresh Kumar Singh, a Constituent Assembly member of the ruling Nepali Congress, one of the signatories of the 16-point agreement, today registered his nine-point note of dissent against the pact at the Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee, saying that if federalism issues are settled by the (transformed) parliament, it will be a violation of the Interim Constitution.

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Quoting Article 138 (1) and 138 (3) of the Interim Constitution, Singh has argued that the power to settle constitutional issues, including those of state restructuring and forms of governance, rests solely with the CA. “If the new constitution is promulgated without the names and boundaries of the Pradeshes, it will be against the spirit of Interim Constitution and agreements signed with Madhesis and Janajatis,” Singh has said in his note of dissent.

Singh has demanded that representation by population theory should be applied in both the Houses — the Lower House and the Upper House. The 16-point pact calls for electing equal number of representatives or five representatives from each Pradeshes.

“If the elections for the posts of President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker were held as per the Interim Constitution after the promulgation of the new constitution, then the principle of inclusion must apply and people of one ethnic background or community should not occupy all these posts,” he has said.

Singh has added that if the constitutional court is headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice, as stated in the 16-point agreement, then it will lose its relevance.

“Constitutional Court should remain as an autonomous and permanent court,” he said.

He has also objected to the pact, which says foreign women married to Nepalis should wait for seven years to be able to obtain naturalised citizenship certificates. He has also opposed the fast-track process for the delivery of the new constitution and said that the new constitution should also guarantee the formation of a Madhesi Commission.