Kathmandu, July 15:

The student wing of the Maoists — All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) — today suggested the interim constitution draft committee include in its document that sovereign power should remain with the people and that the constitution be announced by the interim legislature through national political conference.

Lekhnath Neupane, president of ANNISU-R said that all political decisions should be progressive and regretted that due to internal conflict the interim constitution draft panel has not been able to work properly.

“The pace of progress on interim consittution is very slow,” said Neupane.

“The interim constitution draft panel was wracked by internal conflict over power, which is against the spirit of the movement. The committee should not stray from its assigned responsibility but should reflect the voice of the people in the interim constitution,” said Neupane.

The student body urged the panel to include their major demand of abolition of monarchy and announcement of a republican set-up, saying that

the source of state power and sovereign power should remain with the people and that immutable clauses or sub-clauses should not be included in the constitution.

That the students’ body also demanded the panel mainatin clarity on all issues while formulating the interim constitution.

The interim constitution should play a supportive role in drafting a completely new constitution, guarantee the collective special rights of the people, not let any individual or single institution enjoy special rights, guarantee capturing the King’s and the royal family’s property which should be nationalised.

ANNISU-R also called for placing the army under the people’s representative institutions, dissolution of the army court. It added that all military cases should be decided by civil courts.

Health, education and employment should be the government’s responsibility and the government should give a guarantee of meting out punishment to those guilty of trying to suppress the movement.

The Maoist student wing asked for transparency in guaranteeing job employment opportunity to university graduates, saying treaties such as the Sugauli Treaty and similar others should be scrapped.

It also suggested that the interim constitution should announce the dissolution of the government, House of Representatives, the 1990 Constitution, end the existent system of grading students after exams and guarantee free education to all.