Leaders pledge to deliver constitution before July 16

KATHMANDU: A day after four key political parties agreed on eight-state federal model and resolved other contentious constitutional issues, the CA today began the process of drafting the new constitution in double-quick time.

Today’s CA meeting unanimously mandated its Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee to forge consensus on the disputed issues and present its report to the CA in the next meeting.

Thursday’s meeting is scheduled to forward the report to the Constitution Drafting Committee for preparing the first draft of the new constitution within 15 days.

During today’s CPDCC meeting in the evening, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala tabled 16-point pact signed by four parties – Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Unified CPN-Maoist and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (Democratic) – yesterday requesting all parties to support it.

“The panel will continue discussions for forging maximum consensus on the disputed issues tomorrow and table its report at CA full House on Thursday. If any party wanted to record its different opinion, it will also be attached in the report,” said CPDCC Chairman Baburam Bhattarai.

The parties have differences on federal structure, forms of governance, judiciary, election system and some terminologies and concepts to be included in the preamble and fundamental rights.

“The top leaders of major political parties expressed their readiness to deliver new constitution before July 16 and the Constitution Drafting Committee will be allotted a 15-day deadline to prepare the first draft of the new constitution. And the calendar of operation with remaining work plans will be finalised in a few days after further consultations,” said Nembang.

A majority of parties represented in the CA, other than the four, have also expressed their readiness to move the CA process ahead despite their differences on what the four parties agreed on yesterday. They include Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, RPP, CPN (Marxist Leninist), Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party, Rastriya Janamorcha and 13 parties from the 30-party alliance of opposition parties.

Only 18 parties of the alliance are in the CA. Of them, five parties – MJF-Nepal, Sadbhawana Party, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party and Sanghiya Samajbadi Party — did not attend today’s CA meeting and said they would decide whether or not to participate in the CA full meeting in a few days. Some of them, including MJF-N leader Upendra Yadav, Sadbhawana leader Laxman Lal Karna, TMDP leader Sarvendra Nath Shukla and Sanghiya Samajwadi Party leader Ashok Rai, however, attended today’s CPDCC meeting and left the meeting after expressing their disagreement against the four-party deal.

They said they were against delivering the new statute without name and boundaries of provinces.

Meanwhile, separate meetings of parliamentary parties of ruling NC and UML held in CA building, New Baneshwor, today endorsed yesterday’s 16-point deal of the four parties. UML also called on all parties to be prepared to form a national consensus government immediately after delivering the new constitution to address the post-earthquake challenges, according to its Chief Whip Agni Kharel.