Miscellaneous
CA chair gives options to parties to forge consensus on key issues of statute
Chairman of the Constituent Assembly (CA) Subas Chandra Nembang on Tuesday asked the parties represented in the CA to forge consensus on the process to be adopted in the constitution draftiThe head of the constitution drafting body also warned of moving ahead as per the traditions and CA rules of procedures if the political parties fail to suggest a proper course of action.
During the meeting with chief whips of the political parties represented in the CA, Nembang said that the first priority of political parties should be forging consensus on the content of new constitution, which would ease the statute drafting process. He asked the party leaders to convey his message to their top leaders by comprehending "the sensitivity of the matter".
If that is not possible, according to Nembang, there should be consensus on the constitution drafting process between the ruling coalition and opposition parties.
He said top leaders of major political parties had told him that it is possible to forge consensus on the contentious issues of constitution drafting within a couple of hours. He informed the party leaders that it is still possible to bring a preliminary draft of constitution by January 22 if parties immediately agree on key issues of new constitution.
Deliberations on the report presented by the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (PDCC) is set to come to an end as almost all the CA members have expressed their opinions on it in the CA. Therefore, according to Nembang, parties should suggest him the proper course of action.
Earlier, political parties had agreed to transfer the disputed issues of the new constitution from PDCC to CA, which temporarily provided respite to the ongoing political deadlock.
Now, the head of the constitution drafting body is under extreme pressure mainly from ruling parties to initiate a voting process to resolve the contentious issues and prepare a draft of the new constitution. On the other hand, the opposition parties are of the view that there should not be any voting on disputed issues of constitution drafting. Ruling parties are arguing that contentious issues should not again be transferred to PDCC, while opposition are demanding just the opposite.
"If political parties fail to provide a consensual roadmap, I have to move ahead on the basis of existing laws and regulations," Nembang told the Post. He, however, did not elaborate on the possible course. But, legal eagles said CA Chairman could form a special committee in order to forward the contentious issues of contentious drafting to PDCC.
Nembang is scheduled to hold talk with top leaders of major political parties on Wednesday regarding the process to be adopted in the constitution drafting process. However, the top leaders, who will attend the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the legislature Parliament on Wednesday, are in conflict over the process to be adopted.
As the January 22 deadline for constitution drafting draws near, the relationship between the CA Chairman and major parties has gone sour. The ruling parties are expecting that that CA Chairman Nembang would initiate a voting process, while opposition think Nembang would play an active role to forge consensus on the contentious issues. Nembang's role in the previous CA had also drawn mixed response from both the ruling and opposition parties. .