KATHMANDU: Nilambar Acharya, chairman of the Constitutional Committee, today opined that the constitution in the making must be formulated on the basis of federalism, democracy and a republican approach.

Speaking at a book-launching programme in the capital, Acharya said, “If there was no compromise among the political parties, the objective of writing such a constitution would not be materialised.”

He went on saying that if the state failed, the impunity, anarchy and terrorism would thrive terrifying everyone in the world.

“This is why the political parties need to end confrontations and shed off differences to work jointly to break those barriers obstructing the work of writing constitution,” he said, releasing the book: ‘Federal State Building: Challenges in Framing the Nepali Constitution,’ authored by Dr Mahendra Lawoti, a teacher in the USA.

Appreciating the content of the book, Acharya said that the civil society, press and intellectuals should work hand in hand to strengthen and develop democracy in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, political analyst Prof Krishna Khanal said, “Constitution is not an instant noodle, or a ready made pill to fight all the ills of a society. We need to work harder to make such a constitution that addresses the multifaceted problems facing our society.” Khanal also expressed his apprehension about the fate of democracy even after the constitution was drafted and peace was established. “The country might once again revert back to anarchy,” he warned.

He went on saying, “The crisis looms large as the autocratic tendency is still dominant in the country, although many would like to call it a multiparty democracy here.”

Civil activist Ranju Thakur said that federalism is necessary to ensure rights and ethnic identity in the country.

“The federalism would be meaningless if there was no power-sharing,” she said, adding that she was against ‘one Madhes one Pradesh’.