Chairman of the main opposition party KP Sharma Oli clarified on Monday that the CPN-UML would not support the government’s fresh constitution amendment proposal terming it “more dangerous” than the previous one.

The second largest party had vehemently opposed the amendment proposal when the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government tried to table it in Parliament.

The government on April 11 withdrew the bill tabled on January 8 to replace it with another bill that lacked the proposal to change the boundaries of Province 5.

Citing the new proposal to empower the federal commission to change the provincial boundaries without the consent of the state assembly concerned, former prime minister Oli said the government had been crafty in tabling the second proposal.

Speaking at the Legislature-Parliament on Monday, he clarified that his party cannot support such amendments.

A meeting of the UML Standing Committee, held at Chairman Oli’s residence in Balkot on Monday, concluded that the government’s move to amend the constitution to address the demands of the agitating forces was sure to polarise the parties further.

“The new amendment proposal is more regressive and anti-people than the previous one. The proposal to change Article 274 [of the constitution] is also against the verdict of the court,” the party remarked.

The party charged that the amendment proposal was intended to attack the basic structure of the constitution and the unique features of the federalism that the parties had designed.

“The party won’t accept any provision to curb the rights of the local federal units and to weaken national unity and social harmony,” the party said.

The Cabinet on Sunday decided to revise the constitution amendment bill for bringing the agitating Madhesi and Janajati parties on board the local polls.

The UML meeting also opposed the government’s decision to hold the local polls in two phases claiming that it was indented to influence voters with populist programmes in the fiscal budget. Party Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai urged the government to schedule the second-phase polls before the budget.