Voting on amendment bill could be a political event similar to 1980 referendum

Kathmandu, July 28

The Nepali Congress is in favour of putting the constitution amendment bill to vote only if the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal agrees.

NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi told THT that the two major coalition partners — the NC and the CPN-MC — wanted to put the bill to vote irrespective of its possible outcome so that the people would at least know who supported and who opposed the bill.

Nidhi said the RJP-N had not given its consent for putting the amendment bill to vote but he expected that the party could change its mind. “Democratic forces lost referendum in 1980 but everybody knew that 40 per cent citizens were in favour of multi-party democracy, which created base for popular movement in 1990,” Nidhi said and added that the voting on the amendment bill could be a similar political event.

The RJP-N has been saying that it is fighting not just for putting the amendment bill to vote but also to ensure its passage.

Another NC leader, Ananda Prasad Dhungana, however, said his party might put the bill to vote before September 6 when nominations for the third phase of local polls would be filed. “The UML had said it would support the bill if the issue of revision of provincial boundaries was left to a commission. We have made such a proposal in the bill, but the UML has done a volte face,” he added.

Dhungana said the RJP-N’s demand to increase local levels in the Tarai was genuine.

“The Tarai districts have 277 local levels while the hill districts have 445. How can this be fair?” he wondered.

Dhungana said if the number of local levels was not increased in the Tarai that would affect the regions’ representation in the Upper House of the Parliament, as chiefs and deputy chiefs of local levels would be members of electoral college that would elect Upper House members.

Members of the RJP-N Presidium Rajendra Mahato and Anil Kumar Jha said the NC was not making sincere efforts to amend the constitution.

“We have called our central committee meeting on August 5. Our CC will take a decision on what we should do now but as of today our policy is that we will not take part in the third phase of local polls unless the constitution is amended and our demands are addressed,” Jha said.

When asked to comment on NC leaders’ remark that the amendment bill should be put to vote irrespective of the outcome, Jha said NC leaders were saying so to gain votes in Province 2 polls.

“The NC should have blocked the discriminatory constitution from being promulgated,” Jha said. He added that the NC’s attempt to put the  amendment bill to vote without ensuring two-third majority in favour of the bill was akin to creating a problem and then going to comfort victims.

Deputy parliamentary party leader of the CPN-UML Subas Chandra Nembang said his party stuck to its stance that constitutional issues could be debated only after polls. “Parties have their own stances vis-à-vis constitutional issues. If we debate those issues now, there will be differences that could hamper the government’s efforts to hold polls. Difference on constitutional issues could also complicate implementation of the constitution,” he said. “We, therefore, want discussion on constitutional issues only after polls.” Nembang said.