Activists of the Madhesi group participate in a protest near the Constituent Assembly Hall in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, September 13, 2015.
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Success in framing the vaunted document eluded the first Constituent Assembly – elected in 2008 – and it required a second assembly to finally evolve the desired constitution draft which the three major political parties are now gearing to adopt.
Violent protests in Nepal’s southern plains led by the Madhesi parties protesting the seven province federal model have claimed almost 40 lives including 11 police officers.
In a special editorial published Friday, Nepal’s leading English daily The Kathmandu Post warned that attempts to push through constitution “could cost the nation dearly”.
The debate over Nepal’s new constitution turned violent in recent weeks. “If both the drafting process and the talks go forward simultaneously, amendments can be made even after the constitution is promulgated”, he said.
Nepal’s Constituent Assembly has declined the proposal of declaring the nation as Hindu state on Monday which substantiates that this Hindu majority state would be secular like in the past. While the Nepal’s leader of the National Democratic Party-Nepal Kamal Thapa rules calls in the need of at least to begin the split voting hence the voting was not done.
Proponents of the new constitution say it is needed to increase political stability and boost economic development in the Himalayan nation, still recovering from two devastating earthquakes that killed 8,900 people this year. “Their demands can be met after the constitution is announced”.
While the draft constitution maintains secularism, it also includes wording stating that the state will safeguard “Sanatan Dharma” – often used as an alternative term to describe Hinduism.
It has asked all the political parties there to resolve any outstanding issue through dialogue in an atmosphere free from violence. “Whether the victims are Nepali citizens or government officials, the blood spilt in all the incidents was Nepalese”, she said.
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“The constitution should have the broadest possible support and the outcome should honour fundamental rights such as gender equality and basic freedoms”, Kirby said in a statement.
