Amid protests by eight Madhes-based parties, the government on Tuesday tabled the Constitution Amendment Bill and National Reconstruction Authority Bill in Parliament.

The government decision to push both the bills through may appease the main opposition Nepali Congress but could antagonise the agitating Madhes-based parties.

The NC had been demanding that both the bills be tabled in Parliament simultaneously while the Samyukta Loktantarik Madhesi Morcha, which has been at odds with the ruling and opposition parties over their demands, had agreed for tabling the Reconstruction Bill only.

The NC had also obstructed House proceedings, demanding that both the bills be tabled together.

A meeting of office bearers of the NC earlier on Tuesday had reiterated that discussions on both the bills must be carried out simultaneously.

A meeting of the ruling parties—CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist)—and the main opposition NC later in the day had agreed to table both the bills simultaneously.

Lawmakers from eight Madhes-based parties, who were dissatisfied at major parties’ decision to table the Constitution Amendment Bill, staged demonstrations soon after the House meeting began on Tuesday.

But Speaker Onsari Gharti continued the proceedings with marshals confining the agitating lawmakers to one corner of Parliament.

Sources close to Speaker Onsari Gharti said the Reconstruction Bill is likely to be endorsed after short discussion in Parliament on Wednesday. However the decision on the amendment bill will be taken after consultation with the parties.

 The agitating lawmakers also tried to stop Ganga Chaudhary Satgaunwa, chairperson of the Legislation Committee, and Minister for Law Agni Kharel, from presenting the Reconstruction Authority Bill and Constitution Amendment Bill respectively.

Fifteen out 36 lawmakers from eight agitating regional parties were present in Parliament.

The agitating parties said the ruling parties violated the Parliamentary culture by running the House despite the protest. The regulation of the Legislature-Parliament states that the House business cannot proceed even if a single lawmaker stands in the House. “The major parties turned the Parliament into a barracks,” said Laxman Lal Karna co-chairperson of Sadbhawna Party after the meeting. “This has compelled us to think whether we should continue dialogue with the government or not.” He also blamed the parties for disrespecting the sentiments of the Madhesi people.

The Madhesi parties were against tabling the Constitution Amendment Bill, saying that it will not address their concerns.

The NC, however, had been pressing for tabling the bill registered by the Sushil Koirala-led government, claiming that it will address most of the concerns of Madhesi parties.

The Koirala government on October 8 had registered the bill in the Parliament, seeking to amend Articles 42, 84 and 286 of the Constitution of Nepal to ensure proportional inclusive representation of the marginalised communities in state bodies and delineation of electoral constituencies prioritising population, with at least one electoral constituency in each district.

The protesting parties, however, have been demanding that delineation of electoral constituencies should be based solely on population.

The legal hurdles in setting up the National Construction Authority to carry out the reconstruction of private and public properties will be cleared if the bill is endorsed from the Parliament meeting on Wednesday.

Gharti has called a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee prior to the House meeting called for 4pm on Wednesday to discuss ways to take the constitution amendment proposal forward.

It will take at least a week for the Constitution Amend-ment Bill to be endorsed if the process begins on Wednesday.