The Constituent Assembly (CA) has given seven days’ time for the CA members to register amendment proposals on the revised Bill of the new constitution. The CA members can register amendment proposals on all issues of the constitution by September 5, the last date of registering the amendment proposal on the Bill of the constitution. Theoretical discussions on the revised Bill of the constitution which took place for five days ended on August 30. Almost all the CA members, except some Madhes-centric parties who boycotted the discussions, have already aired views on the contents of the new constitution which is on the final stage of its promulgation. If everything goes according to the plan set by the CA secretariat and the major political parties the new constitution can be delivered by mid-September. As of Monday three CA members, including Rastriya Prajatantra Party, an ally of the coalition government, have three amendment proposals registered on some constitutional issues. Voting on the amendment proposals of the revised Bill of the constitution will begin after September 5. Any amendment proposals that fail to secure a two-thirds majority of the house will not be incorporated in the constitution.

Instead of imposing a ban on CA members the leaders should have convinced them why individual amendments are undesirable

But the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, both of which command an overwhelming majority in the 601-member CA, have told their CA members not to register any amendment proposals to the revised Bill of the constitution on an individual basis. NC Chief Whip Chin Kaji Shrestha has “instructed” his CA members not to table any individual amendment proposal without consulting the party leadership while a standing committee meeting of the ruling CPN-UML has also issued a similar directive to its CA members. The UCPN-Maoist which is backing the constitution-drafting process will, however, register some amendment proposals, particularly on the forms of governance simply to keep on record its reservations on the reformed parliamentary system agreed upon by the NC and UML. The NC and UML came up with an idea of preventing their CA members from tabling an individual amendment proposal with a view to cutting short the endorsement process of the constitution. They have said that only those issues that are agreed upon among the three major parties will be registered for the amendment to the Bill of the constitution that too will be done by the chief whips of the concerned parties.

The decision to prevent their CA members from tabling individual amendment proposals may be justified for their political convenience. But it cannot be justified from the viewpoint of democratic principle. As the CA members cannot be issued any whip in the CA the ruling parties resorted to block them from coming up with individual amendment proposal. The constitutional experts have also flayed the ruling parties for taking such an undemocratic move. Instead of imposing a ban on their own CA members the concerned leaderships should have convinced them why individual amendment proposal is undesirable. The “instruction” to not register any individual amendment proposal on the constitutional issues will only tend to support the claim of anti-constitution elements that the CA is being made a “rubber stamp” of the major political forces.

Down but not out

Modern technologies since the 1990s with the introduction of Internet in Nepal have caused a decline in the number of Kathmanduites using the postal service. There are around 72 letter boxes in Kathmandu to post letters but only 10 of them are now in operation. Now that there is the internet, mobile phone and advanced means of communication most people have opted to use them.

The General Post Office earns a hefty amount from the letter box kept at Thamel, about Rs. 250,000 everyday. The parcels are delivered within 15 days and the GPO garners more than Rs 20 million in revenue from the 10 letter boxes in the capital. These letter boxes are strategically placed where tourists visit like in Thamel, TIA, Bhrikuti Mandap, Basantapur, Durbarmarg and Pashupatinath area and they are bulging with letters and postcards mailed by the tourists. In the post box office at Thamel over 8,000 letters and post cards are posted daily.