Secularism retained in new constitution
KATHMANDU: Secularism will be retained in the new constitution.
As the Constituent Assembly resumed voting on individual articles of the constitution and amendment proposals registered on them, the CA ensured that the nation will be secular in the new constitution.
The CA rejected amendment proposals registered by Kamal Thapa, Anuradha Thapa, Deepak Bohora, Shivalal Thapa and Bishwendra Paswan among others on Article 4.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal's Kamal Thapa and Rastriya Prajatantra Party's Bohora had demanded that secularism be removed from the constitution and Hindu state be mentioned instead.
After CA Chairman Subas Chandra Nembang announced that his proposal was rejected, Kamal Thapa had demanded split voting.
As the CA Chair began split voting, only 21 CA members stood up in support of the proposal. As the CA Rules requires 61 persons to begin the split voting, the voting was not done.
The joint proposal tabled by Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist, however, was endorsed by two-third majority.
Hence, secularism was retained in the Article 4.
Meanwhile, the CA endorsed Articles 5 and 6 as well as the joint three-party proposal registered on them. The Article 5 is about national interests and 6 about the national language.
Voice voting had rejected various proposals registered by lawmakers of various parties, mostly fringe ones, on the endorsed articles.
The meeting also endorsed Article 7, about the official language.
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