Taking part in the deliberations on the amended bill of the Constitution of Nepal, 2072, lawmakers including Dr Minendra Rijal, also Minister for Information and Communications, urged the agitators to come to the talks table to get their demands met, ending the existing political impasses.
Expressing his views in the discussion, Minister Rijal said that the first Constitution Assembly was dissolved without any results due to various reasons, stressing the need to promulgate the constitution, embracing historical changes achieved so far.
The minister said that the violent incidents facing some parts of the country lately have kept all to stay on their toes at a time when the achievements of the Loktantra are going to be institutionalised. He underscored the need to promulgate the constitution at any cost. "Let's not waste the golden opportunity to promulgate the constitution. Violence should be parted from politics, which is a message achieved from past armed rebellion," Rijal said.
Saying that aspirations of Nepali people for economic development and prosperity would be fulfilled only through the constitution, he pointed out that creative help of all is needed for prosperous Nepal along with attracting domestic and foreign investments.
On the issue of federal state model, another participant CA member Bam Dev Gautam stressed the need to form federal states on the basis of decentralised governance system, an issue which some other parties have opposed to.
Gautam, also Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, said that although the 16-point agreement that states the federal commission would determine federal states was a better option, they could not go for it due to various reasons.
Saying that the federalism is a new experiment in the country, he said that the disputes over the seven-state model proposed as per consensus of political parties could be resolved through the federal commission.
He said that the rights of Tharus, Muslims, Janajatis, farmers and labourers should be ensured in the new constitution after forming concerned commission, adding that the constitution writing process should not be halted under any pretext.
Similarly, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi said that the demands of the agitating groups should be addressed at a time when the constitution writing process reaches its final stage.
Accusing the major parties of making the draft constitution beyond agreements made in the Constitutional Political Consensus and Dialogue Committee earlier, he stressed the need to move ahead through consensus.
Ram Janam Chaudhary said that the constitution draft was brought against past consensus and agreements, calling for some corrections.
He expressed the view to form eight-province model as per 16-point agreement struck among major political parties in the past to end existing political unrest.
Similarly, Bimalendra Nidhi said the draft constitution has failed to incorporate aspirations and sentiments of all communities and groups and areas, urging for the address of dissatisfactions surfaced in various places in the country lately.
He said that the issue of the boundaries of 165 constituencies proposed by the new draft constitution should be decided upon soon, adding that constituencies should be determined on the basis of population of the Madhes, Hills and Mountains.
Nidhi was of the view that the Constituent Assembly should form a high-level talks team to resolve existing political problems.
Similarly, Gokarna Bista said that the constitution writing process should not be stopped at any cost, urging to address the demands raised by various groups and communities including Tharus, Muslims, Janajatis, Dalit and Indigenous communities.
Likewise, Kunti Kumari Shahi viewed that the issue of republic, federalism, religion should be put to referendum. RSS
Related story
ICC T20 World Cup: England set Nepal a challenging 185-run targ...
