Consultation on draft constitution faces obstruction from opposition in Nepal

Ministers and leaders of the major political parties in Nepal have faced obstruction in different parts of the country while receiving suggestions on a preliminary draft of a new constitution.

According to the police Monday, protesters demanding Nepal be reinstated into a Hindu state clashed with police and threw chairs at the country's Deputy Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh in the capital city Kathmandu.

Despite protests from cadres of Rashtriya Prajatantra Party- Nepal (RPP-N), the party which has been intensifying campaign to restore Nepal as a Hindu state, Deputy Prime Minister Singh addressed the mass gathering at the National Stadium and said, " Suggestions received from people of various walks of life will be incorporated in the new statute. Indeed, the constitution would be people's document."

Pro-Hindu parties like RPP-N have been launching various rounds of agitation programs, demanding reinstating Nepal as a Hindu state after the Legislature - Parliament declared Nepal as a republic and secular state following the overthrow of the 240-year- old Royal Regime in 2008.

The first draft of the new constitution endorsed from the Nepal 's Constituent Assembly on July 7 stated Nepal is a secular country, which the pro-Hindu parties have been strongly protesting.

The national campaign on receiving suggestions on the draft of the new constitution, which started on Wednesday morning, has got warm support from people in all parts of the country despite obstruction from Madheshi parties in some districts in the Madhesh region.

An unidentified group hurled petrol bombs at Finance Minister Dr Ramsharan Mahat at his electoral constituency in Nuwakot District of the Central Nepal when he was travelling to launch the campaign, Mahat's press aide Gajendra Bista said. "Though we all are safe including Minister Mahat," Bista wrote on Twitter account.

The Madhesh-based parties have been protesting against the major parties since June 8, demanding demarcation of the federal provinces be settled down before the promulgation of the new statute.

A group of Madhesh-based parties' cadres displayed black flags against former Prime Minister and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his electoral constituency, Siraha, of the Central Nepal when he was receiving feedback from the people on the new constitution.

Chanting slogans against the national campaign to receive public feedback on the first draft of the constitution, a group of Madhesh-based parties' cadres vandalized vehicles and pelted stones at CPN-UML senior leader and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and his party cadres when he was addressing the mass assembly in Rautahat District of the Central Nepal.

Six cadres of Madheshi parties were injured when the police lobbed tear gas at cadres of Madheshi parties in a scuffle, local media reports said.

Meanwhile, 11 cadres of the RPP-N were arrested and released on Wednesday in Makawanpur District of the Central Nepal for protesting against the national campaign.

The government has held public hearings in 240 electoral constituencies across the country on Monday and Tuesday to collect feedback from the public to be incorporated in the new constitution.

Programs are being held with the participation of the public and Constituent Assembly (CA) members, including top political leaders in their respective constituencies. Over 590 lawmakers and 150 officials from the secretariat have been deployed for the feedback collection program.

After collecting public inputs on the draft, the Committee on Citizens Relations and Public Opinion Collection will submit a report to the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee on July 23 for further deliberations.

Ending an eight-year row over the key disputed issues of the new constitution such as federalism, electoral system and the system of governance, the major parties -- the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist) and Madheshi Janaadhikar Forum (Democratic)- - had hammered out a 16-point deal to ensure the new constitution in the Himalayan nation on June 8.

The parties agreed to federate the country into eight provinces and form a commission comprising constitutional experts to finalize the demarcation of the federal provinces and endorse it through the Parliament with two-thirds of majority.

Similarly, the parties forged agreement to finalize the naming of the federal provinces through the two-thirds majority of the federal assemblies once Nepal is federated into eight provinces.

As per the spirit of the 16-point deal reached among major parties, Nepal's 598-member Constituent Assembly endorsed the first draft of the new constitution on July 7.

Besides some fringe Madhesh-based parties, Mohan Baidya-led CPN (Maoist), Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN (Maoist) and some Pro-Hindu parties, the 16-point deal got warm support in Nepal as the deal immediately paved the way for drafting the first draft of the new constitution.