Minister for Law and Justice Prem Bahadur Singh, accompanied by Minister for CA, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture Minendra Rijal, filed the eighth amendment bill at the parliament secretariat at Singha Durbar premises at 5 p.m. Monday, minutes after a cabinet meeting took a decision in this regard. [break]
“While the CA has already made considerable strides in constitution-drafting, some of the tasks are yet to be completed. So the bill has to be registered to extend the CA term which is expiring soon,” said Minister Singh after registering the amendment bill at the bills section of the parliament secretariat.
Prior to the cabinet decision, the 10 ruling parties had decided to recommend a CA term extension to the government. As per Article 64 of the Interim Constitution, the CA term will expire on May 28, two years after the first sitting of the CA.
The bill has been registered to amend Article 64 of the Interim Constitution which states: 1) Unless otherwise dissolved earlier by a resolution passed by the CA, the term of the CA shall be two years from the date of its first meeting; 2) Provided that the term of the CA may be extended up to six months by a CA resolution, in the event that the task of drafting the constitution is not completed due to the proclamation of a state of emergency.
The amendment has been proposed under Article 148 according to which any bill regarding amendment of any article can be endorsed by at least two-thirds majority of the total existing members.
Article 64 has come under controversy with some constitutional experts questioning the right of the legislature-parliament to extend the CA term. “The CA term cannot be extended in principle,” says constitutional expert Bhimarjun Acharya.
However, the Supreme Court last month ruled that all articles of the constitution can be amended barring those changing the unitary system into federal and the monarchy into a republic.
The bill was registered without taking the Maoists into confidence. The Maoists have stated that they would not approve a CA extension before Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal steps down, paving the way for a Maoist-led national unity government.
“All the political parties are equally responsible for not completing the constitution-drafting within two years. We decided to table the bill thinking there would be national consensus,” said Minister Rijal.
Without the support of the Maoists, the amendment bill will fall short of a two-thirds majority in parliament and will not be passed. “We will approve the amendment only if the incumbent government is dissolved and a national unity government formed,” said Maoist leader Dev Gurung.
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