Divided HLPC to wait for apex court order
KATHMANDU, JAN 05 -
The major political parties represented at the High-level Political Committee ( HLPC ) have decided to let the Supreme Court take a call on the controversy over calling the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly.
Some leaders, including Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, had remarked the other day that the HLPC meeting on Saturday would settle the issue politically and speed up the CA process. However, after the senior leaders were informed about the status of the two separate writs filed at the Supreme Court, the HLPC decided to wait for a court order, which could further delay the convening of the CA.
“Since the issue has already landed at the court, there is no point discussing a sub-judice case. We have no alternative but to wait for A court
verdict,” UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal told the Post. The major parties are sharply divided the process of calling the first CA meeting. The largest party in the CA, Congress, is in favour of allowing the incumbent president Ram Baran Yadav to call the first CA meeting. Yadav, a former NC lawmaker, has also gone public demanding that he should be conferred the right to call the CA meet. The President’s office and the NC argue that internationally it is customary for the head of state to call the meeting of parliament and the CA.
Though the current constitutional provision says the head of the government shall call the first meeting of the CA, the NC argues that the provision has become obsolete now as it was prepared in the context of the first CA, when the head of state and the head of government were the same person. “Now that we have a president, the constitutional provision needs to be amended,” said NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel.
CPN-UML, on the other hand, argues that the NC’s demand is unconstitutional.
“There is a clear constitutional provision that the head of the government shall call the first CA meeting. There is no need to discuss over the issue. But still, we want to await the court decision,” said Khanal. The Article 69 (1) of the Interim Constitution says the CA meeting would be called by the prime minister within 21 days of the publication of final results of the CA election.
UCPN (Maoist) leaders, however, are divided over the issue. While party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal echos the NC’s arguement, Vice-president Baburam Bhattarai is against it.
Though the Election Commission has already submitted the name lists of the candidates winning the seats under both the first-past-the-post and PR categories, the date of first CA meeting remains uncertaid due to the controversy.
Last Thursday, the Cabinet, which claims that the right to call the first CA meeting is upon the head of the government, did not forward a crucial ordinance that would have granted the constitutional right for calling the CA meet to the President.
In the Saturday’s HLPC meeting, the major parties expressed their commitments to own up the achievements of the erstwhile CA and settle unresolved constitutional issues, such as federalism and forms of governance through consensus.
“The procedures of taking the ownership of the past agreements on constitutional issues and seeking consensus on unresolved ones should start without further delay if we are to promulgate the new constitution within a year,” said UCPN (M) leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
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