'Draft constitution within six months or never'

‘Draft constitution within six months or never’

 

L and G (Based on report The Kathmandu Post report)

KATHMANDU, NOV. 26

 

UCPN (Maoist) Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said on Thursday that two major ruling partners are plotting to stage “constitutional coup” by deliberately delaying the constitution-making process. He warned that if the parties failed to complete the new constitution within the next six months deadline, the country will be in serious trouble.

 

Shrestha said that the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML were not in a mood to complete the new constitution within the given timeline just to create a “constitutional crisis” so that it could serve as a pretext for starting presidential rule.

 

“There are only six more months left to declare the new constitution and the ruling parties want to just pass the time passively so that they could declare state of emergency and start presidential rule,” said Shrestha at a function organized to access the political parties' accountability towards constitution making and peace process. The program was jointly organized by FORHID, Cahurast, FOPHUR.

 

Shrestha also said that the ruling parties are trying to sideline the Maoists because they do not want to make the new constitution on Maoist leadership.

 

Also speaking at the same program, former speaker and facilitator of the 2006 peace talks Daman Nath Dhungana said that there is no alternative to declaring a new constitution within the next six months of the parties want to avert a serious crisis. “It is time the parties forged a new mechanism, besides the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution to direct the peace process,” said Dhungana.  “The ruling parties cannot complete the constitution-making process excluding the Maoists. If they fail to finalize the constitution in the next six months, they won’t get a second chance. The constitution can be written during state of emergency.”