KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli has urged the leaders of the political parties to endorse the constitution amendment proposal registered by the government in the parliament with unanimous consent.
In an all-party meeting convened at the PM’s residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday, Prime Minister Oli urged to vote in favor of the amendment proposal to send out a message of national unity.
“There is no alternative to moving forward united on the issues of national integrity and sovereignty,” said Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, quoting the Prime Minister, “He has appealed to the parties representing the parliament to support the proposed amendment to the constitution.”
Speaking at the meeting, Nepali Congress (NC) leaders told the prime minister that they will decide on the issue after holding a meeting of the party’s central committee.
In the meeting, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba had asked for time to discuss the new map from the Central Committee meeting.
“We agree on this agenda. But, we discuss it in the Central Committee once. We will vote for the map, but we will discuss it once,” he had told the meeting.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula said that NC was with the government on the border issue and would take a decision from the central committee meeting.
Leaders of the Janata Samajwadi Party, during the meeting, urged the prime minister to take forward their demands along with this amendment of the constitution.
In reply, Prime Minister Oli also said that the dissatisfaction of some parties regarding the constitution could be addressed in the coming days.
“The constitution is not an unamendable document,” PM Oli said at the meeting, “But, at now all parties have to agree to give official status to the map that has been issued covering the lands encroached by India.”
The government had earlier registered the Constitution amendment bill to amend the schedule of the Constitution as a coat of arms in the old map does not include the Limpiyadhura, Lipu Lekh and Kalapani.
It should be noted that a constitution amendment requires two-third majority of the House of Representatives.
Even though the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is short of a two-thirds majority, Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition, has extended its support to the government for the amendment.
The government last week published Nepal’s revised map including Lipu Lekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura, with the cabinet endorsing it on May 18.
With the inclusion of this territory, the total territorial area of Nepal increased by some 335 square kilometers.
Nepal has been maintaining that as per the Sugauli Treaty of 1816, the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Kalapani, Lipu Lekh, and Limpiyadhura, belong to Nepal.
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