KATHMANDU, Jan 8: Nepali Congress (NC), one of the key coalition partners, has objected to remarks made by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli that constitution amendments will be made after six years.
Alleging that Prime Minister Oli had not discussed the matter with the NC, senior NC leaders said that the remark about amending the constitution only by 2031 was objectionable.
Addressing a program organized in Kachankawal, Jhapa, on Wednesday, NC General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma said, "The constitution has to be amended. However, the prime minister's statement that the amendment would be made only in 2087 BS is objectionable."
Beyond the object on display
General Secretary Sharma also emphasized that Prime Minister Oli alone does not have the authority to make decisions regarding constitutional amendments. “The leadership of the coalition parties should consult and agree on which issues to amend and when,” he further said.
In his closing remarks at the Central Committee meeting of the CPN-UML on Tuesday, Prime Minister Oli, who is also the chairman of UML, stated that since his party does not currently have a majority in the National Assembly, the constitution would only be amended when the party achieves a majority, which he claimed would happen in 2031.
“Currently, the UML does not have a majority in the National Assembly. The UML will achieve a majority in 2087 BS, and then the constitution will be amended,” Oli had said.
After Oli's statement, some leaders attempted to correct him, suggesting that he must have meant 2083 BS. However, Oli repeated, “The constitution amendment will happen in 2087 BS.”
The UML, which had reached an agreement to form a power alliance with the largest party, the NC, on July 2, 2024, had signed an agreement to amend the constitution. Senior leaders of both parties have publicly stated that one of the key objectives of the current government is to bring about constitutional amendments, and they have also initiated internal discussions on the issues to be amended.
