The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has officially decided to put the constitution bill to vote in Parliament.  Pradip Poudel, a Central Working Committee (CWC) member of the NC, said that a CWC meeting, which concluded on Monday decided to put the amendment bill to vote based on deliberations and suggestions from leaders and cadres of Province 2.

A statement issued by the party after the conclusion of the CWC meeting says the NC is committed to implementing the agreements reached with the political parties, including the CPN (Maoist Centre) and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) and that the party is ready to put the amendment bill to vote and get it endorsed.

“The party urges all political parties including the CPN-UML to pass the bill to ensure broader acceptance of the constitution and create a conducive environment for all elections,” the statement reads. 

The RJP-N, which has been insisting an amendment to the constitution, did not participate in the first and second rounds of local polls and is yet to commit to the third phase elections, saying its demands are yet to be addressed.

Ahead of the party’s CWC meeting, the NC had organised a gathering of leaders and cadres of Province 2 to take stock of the situation in the region and seek their opinions on the constitution amendment bill.

Province 2 leaders had suggested that the party make a pitch for putting the amendment bill to vote before the third phase polls rather than putting the entire constitution amendment process on hold.

The governing parties’ earlier bids to secure two-thirds votes required to pass the amendment bill had failed after the main opposition CPN-UML stood against it.

The UML-led opposition bloc controls 196 seats in Parliament. The governing parties on July 11 told the RJP-N that there was no possibility of amending the constitution “in current situation”.

A week later, the RJP-N, a unified force of six Madhes-based parties, told the ruling parties that there was no point putting the statute revision bill to vote if they could not ensure its passage.

Action against ‘poll saboteurs’

A Central Working Committee meeting of the Nepali Congress on Monday decided to take action against those leaders and cadres who were responsible for causing electoral losses to the party during the two phases of local elections, according to a leader. During the three-day meeting which concluded on Monday, CWC members had demanded action against poll saboteurs—those who did not cooperate or those stood or fielded rebel candidates during the polls. The meeting also decided to mobilise party organisations for the local polls slated for September 18.

Deuba faces criticism

Majority of Nepali Congress Central Working Committee (CWC) members have criticised party President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for his failure to expand the Cabinet. PM Deuba has not been able to expand his Cabinet even more than a month after assuming office. Almost all CWC members expressed concern about PM Deuba’s sluggish working style, said NC CWC member Pradip Poudel. “We drew the prime minister’s attention to his failure to expand the Cabinet and his government’s sluggish approach,” said Poudel.