Parties' differences over agreement and process continue

Kathmandu, Dec 28: Lawmakers of the various political parties have expressed mixed opinions during participation over the discussion on Constitutional Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee Report, 2071 at the Constituent Assembly session here today.

The lawmakers of the ruling parties have reiterated their stance on delivering the new constitution through majority voting process while the opposition ruled out any other alternative to an unanimous agreement.

Nepali Congress' Saraswoti Bajimaya demanded drawing the final decision on the report at the full house of the CA rather than sending it back to the CPDCC for adjudication.

Likewise, Nepali Congress' Chandra Bahadur Kunwar urged for delivering the constitution through the CA on January 22 to save the country from becoming a toy at the hands of foreign powers.

CPN (UML) Bikash Lamsal said the report should not be sent back to the Committee in view of its earlier failure to resolve the dispute over the contentious issues and make the country a hostage in name of consensus. Lamsal pressed for taking the report to the voting process immediately.

Lamsal also added that the senior leaders would be coerced to promulgate the new constitution on the stipulated timeframe.

At the session, lawmakers from CPN (UML) Bishram Prasad Chaudhary and Juned Ansari asserted that the people would not be able to forgive the parties if the latter failed to deliver the constitution as mandated and urged the parties to create an environment to promulgate the new constitution. They opposed the idea of sending back the report to CPDCC.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Abdul Hamid Siddiqi called for opting for voting process as agreement on disputed issues had time and again proved evasive.

Terai Madhes Loktantri Party lawmaker Ramani Ram underscored the importance of promulgating the new constitution on basis of agreement and called for sending the report back to CPDCC.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Dilman Pakhrin said the constitution must give a sense ownership to the people while backing the voting process as an option for the leaders.

UML's Mira Pokharel Dhuju said the country had remained a hostage in name of consensus for the past eight years and urged for drafting the supreme law of the land through special arrangement at the CA to facilitate the voting process.

UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Juthbahadur Tuhure Khadgi underlined the importance of a consensual constitution to institutionalize the past agitation and revolution, and urged the parties to not indulge in the game of minority and majority.

UCPN (Maoist) Prakashwala Rai and Manbahadur Tharu said the dubious scheme of plunging the country into a whirpool of conflict in name of voting process would not be allowed to succeed.

Meanwhile, UML's Kriparam Rana expressed a dissenting view from that of his party's official standpoint, and urged for a constitution through an agreement than a voting process.

UML's Damodar Bhandari, Congress Dr Ganesh Kumar Mandal urged for immediately opting for majority voting.

The next meeting of the CA is slated to be held on December 29 at 1 pm. RSS