KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Gagan Thapa has said that a mechanism for constitution amendment will be formed within a few days.
Thapa said that they will jointly form a mechanism for amending the Constitution and begin working on it shortly.
He assured that the process would be handled sensibly, ensuring the amendment is carried out in a controlled manner.
“The debate on Constitution amendment has now begun,” Thapa stated.
“In the coming days, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML will form a mechanism to move forward. We will manage the process responsibly, avoiding any unnecessary risks. After handling this, NC and UML will first establish an understanding on what should and can be implemented in the minimum constitution. We will then open dialogue with other political parties.”
Thapa emphasized that any amendments would be made in consultation with the Maoists and moderate political parties, stressing that the constitution would not be amended solely at the behest of the NC and UML.
“This Constitution cannot be amended just because the Nepali Congress and UML want it,” Thapa said.
“We will engage in talks with the Maoist Center and other parties in Madhesh. The aim is to reach a broad understanding. We plan to amend the constitution in a way that preserves the minimum required framework,” Thapa said.
“The parliament is already inclusive, but we aim to make it even more so. The cabinet, however, is not as inclusive, and we plan to address that as well.”
Thapa also highlighted the need for constitutional changes to allow a political party to govern effectively without being bound by the need for coalition support from smaller parties, even when it enjoys significant popular backing.
“At the same time, we need to remove the current constraints that force parties into smaller coalitions despite having substantial public support. We should create a situation where a single party can govern independently for a period,” he explained.
“These are some of the issues we will address in the process of constitutional amendment. We will proceed responsibly and through dialogue.”
Regarding the upcoming 2084 BS elections, Thapa stressed that the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML should not shy away from the responsibilities of the previous years.
“We need to position ourselves in such a way that we can present a concrete record of what we have accomplished during this period when we go to the people,” he said.
Thapa also claimed that the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML plan to use the current government as an opportunity to demonstrate their achievements and contest the upcoming elections independently, hoping to win the public’s support through their work.
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