Two important bills were presented in Parliament on Tuesday—the National Reconstruction Authority Bill and the Constitution Amendment Bill. Both of these bills are crucial to the immediate future of the country. The passage of the Reconstruction Bill will enable the formation of the Reconstruction Authority. This is a welcome development, especially since the government has utterly neglected post-earthquake reconstruction for many months now and has made little effort to collect, let alone utilise, the funds that have been pledged by donors. We hope that the Reconstruction Authority will be formed swiftly now that the bill has been passed and reconstruction will begin in earnest.

The Constitution Amendment Bill is far more complicated. In fact, the manner in which it is being pushed through Parliament is problematic and is likely to further exacerbate the very problems that it intends to resolve. For, the only purpose of the Constitution Amendment Bill is to address the demands of the Madhesi groups that have been protesting for many months now. In terms of concrete substance, the Bill does address two key Madhesi demands: ensuring proportional representation and delineating constituencies in a way that it prioritises population.

However, this Bill was pushed through despite Madhesi opposition. The Madhesi parties have been demanding  a comprehensive solution to their demands, including a redelineation of provincial boundaries. The major parties ignored the call; this could lead to further alienation and stall the ongoing talks, and the relations between the major parties and Madhesi parties could deteriorate.

It is important to remember that there are two broad aspects to Madhesi anger. First, they have grievances regarding the substance of the new constitution which include issues such as proportional representation, constituency delineation and provincial boundaries. Quite crucially, many Madhesis are angry because they feel that their community was  sidelined and ignored during the constitution-drafting process. Any effort to address their grievances should have included gestures to make them feel included in the process. By unilaterally passing certain constitutional amendments, the major parties will only harden the perception in the Madhes that the centre has no intention to engage with them.

In the short term this could lead to more protests. In the longer term, it could lead to increased social alienation. In any case, it is clear that the Constitution Amendment Bill will not do much to resolve the crisis in the Tarai. It is time for the leaders of the major parties to adopt a more creative and magnanimous approach. The standoff in the Madhes has been going on for far too long; it has hurt livelihoods of the people both in the Tarai and hill/mountain districts.The country is on the cusp of a humanitarian crisis and the national economy is in shambles. The parties must do all they can do bring an end to it at the earliest.