The way forward is to implement the constitution in both letter and spirit
Even eight years after the new constitution of the country was promulgated, many of its key provisions remain contentious, with voices from many quarters getting louder to dump some of them. Did or did not the Constituent Assembly (CA) that wrote the constitution incorporate the suggestions made by the stakeholders who directly or indirectly participated in drafting it? Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court has ordered the government to distribute free copies of the constitution in pocket size to all households with the help of the local levels so that they know what is contained in the constitution. The apex court had delivered the verdict on September 10, whose full text was released on Monday. This definitely will entail huge costs in printing the constitution, but then the constitution was written by the CA elected by the people, and it is the government's duty to see to it that it is easily accessible to the people.
Moreover, there is that precedent of its draft being distributed for free before being finalised. The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs must now submit a report on the execution of the SC's order within six months of the date the defendants get the copies of the court order.
Since democracy was ushered into the country in 1951, five constitutions have been written. While the first three in 1959, 1962 and 1990 were promulgated by the king, the Interim Constitution of 2007 waspromulgated by the political parties. It is only during the promulgation of the latest constitution of 2015 that intense debate was held in the Constituent Assembly represented by 601 members. Precious time was lost in writing the constitutionas the first CA elected in 2008 could not do so. The second CA, following its election in 2013, wrote the constitution whose main features were republicanism, federalism and secularism. Other features include fundamental rights, pluralistic governing system, independent judiciary, constitutional watchdog bodies and proportional inclusion. However, Madhes-based parties boycotted the CA process while the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, the pro-Hindu, monarchist party, voted against it. Although accepted by most countries around the world, India has had certain reservations about the new constitution.
How the SC's order to make available copies of the new constitution to all households across the country will help the people to accept the constitution is hard to say. Since the constitution has been written by the CA that the people themselves elected, how will their grievances against the new constitution be addressed? There was a lot of talk right after the constitution was promulgated that secularism, federalism and even republicanism were never the agenda of the people. The common people are not even aware of having held a debate on the key constituents of the new constitution. And this is reflected in the growing disapproval of federalism and secularism in particular.
Federalism caught Nepalis by surprise, who didn't even know from where it originated. The country has been federated into seven provinces and 753 local levels, which have become a big financial burden on the nation. The way forward is to amend the constitution according to the wishes of the people and implement the remaining provision in both letter and spirit.
Role of police
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha on Monday said that internal security was needed for prosperity, progress and good governance. While addressing a function to mark the 68th Police Day at the Nepal Police Headquarters, Shrestha said rule of law had been established mainly due to the impartial role of the Nepal Police.
Nepal Police is considered one of the most efficient institutions of the state, and it has carried out flawless and fair investigations into major crimes taking place in the country. However, Nepal Police has been marred by political interference when it comes to investigating high-profile crimes involving highly-placed politicians and bureaucrats. The Lalita Niwas land grab case, fake Bhutanese refugee scandal and 100 kilo gold smuggling case are some of the latest instances in which the police have been coerced into political submission. The police have not been able to prosecute the high-profile politicians and bureaucrats, who were found to be involved in these infamous scandals that have tarnished the image of the Nepal Police. It has been proven time and again that the hands of the police are tied when the political parties in power interfere in their work of taking on the politicians in power.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 18, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
