As people across the country are giving their feedback on draft constitution launched last week by the Constituent Assembly, he stressed that the new statute should adopt a federal model that uplifts the status of ethnic communities and protects their identity. "The new constitution and the federal system should strengthen national unity and integrity. But, it mustn't fuel animosity between various communities," he said.He explained that discrimination against Madhesi communities in the past shouldn't be the pretext for delineation of a separate state. "What we should do at this historical juncture is lobby for equal rights that wouldn't allow anyone to discriminate against anyone," he said.
Bimal was of the view that availability of natural and human resources should be the basis for delineation of provinces. He said he is against the demand for one Tarai-Madhes province as representation of the Tarai region at the center would become weak if the entire Tarai is made a single province. "The more the number of provinces in the Tarai, the stronger representation we have at the center," he argued.
Former President of Janakpur Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Bajaranga Sah, also believes in promoting mixed-community cultures for rapid development of society. "Presence of diverse communities would not only add to the beauty of Janakpur society but would also help speedy development," said Sah. He is also against the proposal for separating Tarai from the hills while delineating Madhes province. He stressed on maximum utilization of natural resources of hills and Tarai's potential of agricultural productivity for the prosperity of the country.
However, Professor Bhogendra Jha stands against north-south delineation of provinces. He argued that those who are lobbying for putting parts of Madhes, hills and mountains together in a single province are doing so out of mistrust with the people of Madhes.
Youth leader Anuj Mishra said the representatives from Madhes region should lobby for delineation of equal number of provinces in Tarai-Madhes and hills.
Constitution after delineation of provinces
Civil society members here in the district stressed that the task of delineating provinces must be settled before promulgation of the new constitution. Sah said delineation of provinces mustn't be deferred as such a move might leave the task unfinished for long. "Further deferral of this task will only make things more complicated," said Sah.
Professor Jha warned of serious consequences if leaders from major political forces enforced the new constitution without a clear map of provinces. "Entrusting a commission with federating the country would delay the task," said Jha.
Similarly, Asgar Ali, former deputy mayor of Janakpur municipality, accused the major political parties of trying to create different types of citizenship and introducing discriminatory provisions in the new constitution.
He criticized the leaders for including the provision that states only those possessing citizenship by descent can become head of state and head of government and hold posts in other constitutional bodies. "This is a height of mistrust," he said.
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