Kathmandu, September 14

The Office of the President today released the letter President Ram Baran Yadav had written to Constituent Assembly Chairperson Subas Chandra Nembang on Friday, urging him to take all the disgruntled groups on board the constitution-making process.

The Office of the President released the letter a day after Nepali Congress General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula, while addressing the CA, said he heard that the President had asked the CA chair to postpone the CA meeting.

The President’s letter had talked of starting a dialogue process within the CA to win confidence of the disgruntled forces. Analysts interpreted CA chair’s decision to initiate the voting process yesterday as a rejection of the President’s suggestions.

Leaders of the major parties – the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Unified CPN-Maoist – have expressed their unhappiness over the President’s advocacy to ensure broadest possible consensus within and outside the CA.

Sitaula told the CA yesterday that he did not believe that the President would do anything against the decisions of the sovereign CA. Sitaula’s remarks about the President have been interpreted as criticism of the President’s letter to Nembang. In the two page letter, the President stated that efforts should be made to the extent possible to ensure that no group, community or region quits the constitution-making process.

“For this there is still time. We need to make efforts till the last moment to make the constitution an inclusive and supreme law of the country by realising the significance of the CA process and the participation of the forces that represent the CA,” reads the letter.

The Head of State said the constitution-making process was meant to unite everybody, including all communities, regions and ethnic groups. The President urged all the CA members through the CA chair to utilise the opportunity to frame a new constitution that could bind all Nepalis together.

The President stated in the letter that while carving out provinces, the scientific criteria and expert opinions should be followed. “Nepal should embrace essential and beautiful elements of federalism, such as social harmony and unity, by recognising the identity of different castes, ethnic groups and communities to strengthen national unity,” the President wrote.

Stating that every citizen was expecting a constitution wherein they could see their rights are protected, the President said in the letter that the CA should utilise the opportunity to strengthen national unity, social harmony and mutual dialogue. The President stated that every citizen was closely monitoring the process being followed by the CA and he felt it was his duty to remain informed about the process in the CA.

The Head of State also said he wanted the new constitution to ensure separation of power, checks and balances, the rule of law and independent judiciary.