KATHMANDU: Celebrating Easter Sunday, one of the most important Christian festivals, the Christian community in Nepal today demanded timely drafting of the new constitution and guaranteeing the community's rights in it.

The community has urged political parties and other bodies concerned to be serious about drafting the statute on time.

Easter is celebrated to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, three days after his crucifixion, according to the Bible.

General secretary of Nepal Christian Society Lok Mani Dhakal told this daily that the community, at a mass meeting at Khulla Mancha, today prayed for peace in the country. "We are voicing for the right to religion in a practical manner," he said. The Christian Central Recommendation Committee for New Constitution has also urged the political parties to work with consensus for the welfare of the general people. The committee has demanded ensuring the rights of all communities. It also demanded that the state behave with Christians as it should do in a secular state and guarantee their rights in the new constitution.

It has further urged a clear definition of the 'Religion Act' and has demanded forming a "constitutional religious equality trust." The committee has already submitted a memorandum to 25 political parties demanding implementation of its recommendations.

"The Christian community is not being given even a good place to bury its dead," the committee said in pamphlets it distributed on the occasion of Easter. Father Robin Rai,

a priest at the Assumption Catholic Church, told this daily that his parish and parishioners today prayed for a "new life

for all living beings" in this world during Easter Mass held at the Church.