Bit parties block past CA pacts

KATHMANDU, JAN 30 - A special proposal on taking ownership of the progress made by the previous Constituent Assembly hit a roadblock on Wednesday due to opposition by minor parties including Rastriya Prajantantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N).

The Nepali Congress (NC), the CPN-UML and the UCPN (Maoist) were also to table a resolution motion expressing a commitment to promulgate a new federal democratic constitution within a year.

Both the proposals have been put on hold fearing obstruction in the House session by opposing parties .

As major parties drafted proposals in the all-party meeting chaired by Surya Bahadur Thapa, RPP-N and Rastriya Janamorcha opposed the move saying that such proposals require an endorsement from the all-party meeting first.

They argued that decisions made by the three major parties should not be imposed on the sovereign CA without having the consent of all parties represented in the CA. Provisions stipulate that proposals are to be tabled in the House only after achieving consensus in an all-party meeting.    

A meeting of major parties on Tuesday had agreed to recognise the decisions made by the previous CA and table a special proposal to ensure the writing of a new constitution within a year. The three party meeting had also formed a taskforce to prepare these proposals at the meeting of the CA on Wednesday.

Wednesday's CA meeting was brief as parties failed to forge a consensus on contested agendas. The meeting did however, endorse a proposal concerning the formation of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), an all-party mechanism responsible for running the House.

The CA meeting has been postponed by a week to hold robust cross-party discussions on endorsing such a proposal from the Parliament.

The major parties acknowledged a lack of preparation, and plan to hold talks with all parties in the CA before tabling a series of proposals in the next Parliament meeting, scheduled for February 22. The row has affected the drafting of the CA rules of procedures, which will begin only after finalising the modality of ownership.

"We failed to table the proposal regarding taking ownership of previous CA decisions due to protests by RPP-N and other fringe parties who want to show their existence in the CA," CPN-UML leader Bam Dev Gautam told media persons after the meeting."We will try to forge consensus among the parties but the proposal will be endorsed by the parliament despite the protest from RPP-N because the country has already adopted federalism and republicanism", Gautam added.

RPP-N and other fringe parties maintained that the tabling of a proposal

prepared by three parties out of a total 30 political parties in the CA is a defamation of the sovereign will. Both the RPP-N and the Rastriya Janamorcha demanded the holding of an all-party meeting to finalise the contents of the proposal. "We refused to accept such a proposal in Wednesday's CA meeting because it will invite confrontation among the parties in the CA. Some political parties have again started their old working style which would not work in the new CA," said RPP-N Chairman Kamal Thapa after the CA meeting.

CA Chairman Suriya Bahadur Thapa said due to time constraints and a lack of preparation, both proposals were not presented in the meeting.

"Some parties have different opinions about taking ownership of past agreements, but it is not possible to promulgate a new constitution without taking ownership," Thapa told reporters after the meeting.  He said that such proposals should be settled at top leadership levels before being presented to the House for endorsement.

Second CA meet forms business advisory panel

The second meeting of the Constituent Assembly (CA) on Wednesday resulted in the formation of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), a body responsible for running CA and Legislative-Parliament sessions. The CA Chairman would serve as chief of the cross-party BAC mechanism.

Members from all political parties represented in the CA have been appointed members of the BAC.  Formation of this panel was the sole agenda of Wednesday's brief CA meeting. The members of the Committee include Chin Kaji Shrestha from Nepali Congress, Bhim Acharya from CPN-UML, Krishna Bahadur Mahara from UCPN(Maoist), and Dil Nath Giri from Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal(RPP-N).

Also members are Brijesh Kumar Gupta, Sanjaya Kumar Sah, Ayendra Sundar Nembang, Dil Bahadur Nepali, Prem Suwal, Narendra Shan Kalwar, Chitra Bahadur KC, Jaya Dev Joshi, Dharmendra Kumar Sah, Eknath Dhakal, Shiv Lal Thapa, Bisendra Paswan, Rukmini Chaudhary, Prem Bahadur Singh, Harish Chandra Sah, Sarita Kumari Yadav, Laxman Rajbansi, Dimpal Kumari Jha, Ram Kumar Rai, Kumar Khadka, Lokmani Dhakal and Megh Raj Nepali. The agenda of CA and Parliamentary sessions would be finalised by the BAC beforehand in order to avoid disputes and disturbances within the Parliament.

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