The CA members met local officials of the administration and members of the security forces on Friday. CPN-UML Lawmaker Bichari Prasad Yadav, who represents Constituency Number 2 of Parsa, said that he has started meeting people to get their feedbacks on the draft statute.
On the other hand, Madhes-based parties that have been opposing the draft staged a protest program in Birgunj on Friday.
Urging people to boycott the programs organized for collecting suggestions on the draft, leaders and parliamentarians from Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN), Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), Sadbhavana Party (SP) and Tarai Madhes Sadbhavana Party (TMSP) held rallies and protest programs at different places.
FSFN Vice Chairman Lalbabu Raut, SP Co-chair Laxman Lal Karna, TMDP leader Ramesh Prasad Kurmi, who represents Parsa in the CA, led the protest programs.
"This draft does not address the demands of Madhesi, Dalit, Janajati, women and marginalized citizens. We have stood against the draft constitution right from the beginning, but our voices are being ignored. We are here to expose the weaknesses in the draft constitution," said CA member Raut.
He, however, said that the protesting parties would not disrupt the government efforts of collecting suggestions from public.
Some leaders belonging to Muslim organizations also expressed dissatisfaction with the draft and expressed solidarity with the protest programs held by Madhes-based parties. Around a dozen Hindu organizations are also set to organize a protest program against the draft in Birgunj on Saturday. According to Binay Yadav, an organizer, the Hindu organizations have come together to express dissatisfaction over the provision of declaring Nepal a secular state. Yadav said that the organizations would push for restoring the country as a Hindu state.
The CA members, after meeting with local administration and security officials, said that the protest programs would not hamper t feedback collection.
"People want constitution and they are eager to give their suggestions. If they feel anything should be incorporated or added, they will come to provide feedbacks. The protest would not stop people from giving feedbacks," said UML lawmaker Yadav.
The CA Secretariat initially had sent 1,200 copies of the draft to Parsa, the district with five constituencies and population of more than 600,000. Later, the secretariat had sent another 700 copies to Parsa. Though the local administration had made arrangements for distributing the draft copies to public through political parties, VDC secretaries and the municipality, the members of public lamented that they could not get hold of a copy of the draft constitution.
"There is no buzz on the draft statute in villages. Whatever people know about the draft is only through the media," said Rakesh Yadav of Bairiyabirta.
Many people say that they are not prepared to give suggestions on the draft since they are yet to read it.
The local administration had used posters to inform the locals about public hearing program on Monday but the cadres of protesting parties tore them down. Meanwhile, PL Shrestha, the party chief of Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist, has threatened to disrupt feedback collection programs.
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