It is an epochal event in Nepali history as Nepal has been able to get a Constitution crafted by an elected CA 65 years after the first demand or promise for it had been made

At last, amid all the uncertainty, confusion, speculation and various types of maneuverings, the second Constituent Assembly has been successful in passing a democratic, federal, republican and inclusive Constitution of Nepal. Now, the new Constitution will come into force as soon as it is promulgated at a ceremony to be held in the CA hall at 5 P.M. on Sunday, September 20. It is an epochal event in Nepali history as Nepal has been able to get a Constitution crafted by an elected CA 65 years after the first demand or promise for it had been made. And in world history too, as far as the composition of a CA and constitution making are concerned, this is an important event as our CA has been the largest, most diverse, and most inclusive of all constituent assemblies formed in the entire world so far.

The fact that the new Constitution Bill was passed by as much as 85 percent of the CA members proves that this constitution has been a document of maximum national agreement, as the vast majority of the CA members representing various communities including Janajatis, Madhesis, Dalits, and women put their signatures of approval on the Constitutional Bill. It would have been even better if the 10 percent of the CA members most of them belonging to the smaller Madhes-based parties had taken part in the final proceedings of the CA, recording their reservations, as, for example, the RPP-Nepal had rightly done. Admittedly, this constitution has tried to address at least some, though not all, of the demands and concerns of all parties and communities. In such a document which has to reconcile the conflicting interests of diverse parties and groups in society, it is impossible to include all or even most of the demands and concerns of any single party or group, however, big or powerful it may be. For example, the three biggest parties have given up several of their major stances and pet concerns in order to hammer out a compromise document. By this token, the Madhes-based parties have got more than any other party, as most of their concerns have been addressed including Madhes Pradesh, considering their relatively much weak strength in the CA.

The greatest beauty of this constitution is that it is a highly flexible document which can accommodate the changes (except of course national unity, people’s sovereignty, territorial integrity of Nepal) that most people in the country may deem necessary from time to time. Herein rests the confidence in the durability of this constitution despite its various faults. In this context, any disgruntled parties, groups or communities should work peacefully and democratically to gain more public support for their agendas and try to get them included in the Constitution. The three parties have kept the doors open for dialogue, too. It is unfair on the part of anybody to go to extremes to have all their demands addressed by any means. Now it is also the duty of the major parties to try to bring home to the general people that this constitution treats all citizens equally, and that some of them, including Madhesis, Dalits, Janajatis and women more equally on certain points. In this respect, the major political parties have left much to be desired.

Market monitoring

The daily market monitoring that is being done by the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) has drawn flak as there are allegations that the monitoring is being done by its teams without meeting the requirement according to the law. The DoCSM officials carrying out the monitoring on their own may lack knowledge about whether the quality of the products or goods or services meted out reaches the minimum standards set.

The regulations have provisioned that the monitoring teams should consist of concerned bodies like the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Meteorology and also the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control an related bodies. During the monitoring representatives of non-governmental organizations involved in the protection of consumer rights and the Nepal Police as well as the concerned government regulatory body should also be present. The DoSCM stands accused of not carrying out the monitoring in a proper manner and that it is doing so only to utilize the budget. Excuses of lack of funds for the monitoring cannot be made.