Unlikely
Proposal
S.
Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On November
29, 2016, the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist
Centre)-led Government registered a seven-point Constitution
Amendment Bill at the Parliament Secretariat, seeking
to amend the Constitution
which was adopted in a historical
step on September 20, 2015, to address
the concerns of Madhes-based parties. The Amendment Bill
proposed to leave only six Districts, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi,
Kapilbastu, Dang, Banke and Bardiya in Province 5, excluding
the six hill Districts of Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi,
Rukum, Rolpa and Pyuthan, to add them to Province 4. The
Bill also seeks to amend the Constitutional provisions
pertaining to citizenship, provincial border, and proportional
representation, among others. Later, a Cabinet meeting
held the same evening decided to form a High-Level Delineation
Commission to settle all issues related to the delineation
of Provinces after making a comprehensive study of all
past agreements and reports submitted by various commissions.
The Government had prepared the Amendment Bill in order
to address the demands put forth by the agitating
Madhesi parties, as the alliance of Madhesi parties
had served an ultimatum, which ended on November 28, 2016,
to bring an amendment proposal.
On November
30, 2016, however, the Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal (FSF-N),
a key constituent of the United Democratic Madhesi Front
(UDMF) and Federal Alliance, declared in a Press Statement,
“The proposed Constitution Amendment Bill registered in
the Parliament has not addressed any demands raised by
the UDMF and Federal Alliance. We will not accept this
Bill as it has been brought despite our disagreement.
Our protest will continue against racial discrimination
and caste-based rule.” Thus, on December 1, 2016, UDMF
and Federal Alliance leaders, during a meeting with Prime
Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, rejected Dahal’s request
to accept the Bill and participate in local polls. After
the meeting, Upendra Yadav, Chairperson of the FSF-N observed,
“We told the Prime Minister that it was meaningless for
us to take part in elections unless our demands were addressed
by amending the Constitution. This Bill does not resolve
the country’s problems. It does not address the demands
raised by Madhesis and Janajatis.”
Further,
on December 2, 2016, Mahantha Thakur, Chairman of the
Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), another constituent
of the UDMF, stated, “The Commission has identified areas
from Jhapa to Kanchanpur for two States. The entire Nawalparasi
District should be integrated into Madhes. If the Constitution
Amendment Bill registered at the Parliament gets revised,
we are ready to support its endorsement.” Meanwhile, expressing
serious dissatisfaction over the Constitutional provisions
that make local units powerful, on December 3, 2016, Keshav
Jha, General Secretary of the National Madhes Socialist
Party (NMSP), argued "The local units have been given
more rights than what is viable and this is against the
principles of federalism. The Constitution has granted
the local units unnecessary powers because the CPN-UML
is against federalism. The National Assembly should be
a chamber that represents the provinces at the center
and there is no sense in including the chairpersons and
vice chairpersons of village councils and mayors and deputy
mayors of municipal councils in the Electoral College."
The Constitution has envisaged three tiers of Government
in the country but the Madhes-based parties want only
two two-tier Government and to keep the local units under
the provinces.
The Government's
move also came amidst strong objections from the main
opposition party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified
Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). In particular, the party objected
to the proposal to change boundaries of Province No. 4
and Province No. 5. After the Government registered the
amendment proposal, on November 30, 2016, the party summoned
a Parliamentary Party (PP) meeting and decided to use
all its energies to thwart the proposed amendments to
the new Constitution, terming these as "an attempt
to undermine the sovereign existence of the country."
Separately, a joint meeting of the Youth Association Nepal
(YAN), the youth wing of CPN-UML and the All Nepal Free
Students Union (ANNFSU), the student wing of CPN-UML,
held at the YAN office on November 30, 2016, decided to
jointly protest against and relentlessly oppose the Constitution
Amendment Bill the Government has registered, until it
was withdrawn.
Significantly,
on December 1, 2016, CPN-UML obstructed Parliamentary
proceedings, terming the Constitution Amendment Bill anti-national.
For the second consecutive day, on December 2, 2016, Opposition
parties, including CPN-UML, Nepal Workers and Peasants
Party (NWPP) and Rastriya Janamorcha, obstructed the House
proceedings. CPN-UML General Secretary C.P. Mainali, while
addressing the House meeting after Speaker Onsari Gharti
allowed the opposition to put forth their demands, observed,
“The Amendment Bill has only invited dispute and divisions
among the people. The Government should rescue the country
from division by withdrawing the amendment proposal. The
proposed revision in provincial boundary is beyond the
Constitutional jurisdiction of this Parliament and the
wishes as well as demands of the people. The motive of
the amendment proposal is a part of a conspiracy to establish
two nationalities within the nation. Let's form a high
level political mechanism and settle the Constitutional
demarcation dispute.” The opposition parties obstructed
the meeting of Parliament for the third consecutive time
on December 4, 2016, demanding to withdraw the Constitution
Amendment Bill. Following the obstruction, the meeting
was deferred till 1 pm on December 7.
Also, as
expected, the local populations in both the affected Hill
and Tarai Districts started staging protests, demanding
that Province 5 be left unchanged. On November 30, 2016,
protests soared in the different Districts of Province
5. In Butwal, students from the Lumbini Commerce Campus
and Butwal Multiple Campus, among others, enforced a transport
strike against the Amendment Bill. In Pyutha, locals enforced
a general strike against the Bill and also demonstrated
at major thoroughfares in the District headquarters by
holding protest assemblies and burning tires. Normal life
in Arghakhanchi was also affected due to the indefinite
District-wide general strike called by various organizations
based in the District. In Gulmi, an indefinite strike
was announced at an assembly of political parties, civil
society and journalists, among others, organized by the
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FNCCI), Gulmi. In Palpa, Political parties decided to
continue protests until the Government addressed the demand
of not splitting the Province. On December 1, 2016,
protests intensified across the hilly region.
More surprisingly,
District-based political parties, both from the ruling
and opposition sides, lambasted the Constitution amendment
proposal. On December 1, 2016, in Rolpa, party cadres
and leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC), openly
stood against the decision despite the party's alliance
with the Government. NC lawmaker from Rolpa, Amar Singh
Pun, leading the protests, stated, “For me, the people
of Rolpa are greater than the party and I cannot stand
against them. Here, people are not happy at all to be
merged with other provinces. Pyuthan and Rolpa cannot
stay under Province 4 as decided now. We want it in Province
5, as decided earlier.” Similarly, Bishnu Muskan, NC District
Chairman of Arghakhanchi, observed “There's overwhelming
protests against the decision. How can the Government
apply for it? People are not ready for it.”
Further,
defying party lines, on December 3, 2016, senior
ruling party leaders, NC Central Working Committee member
Chandra Bhandari and Deputy Parliamentary Party leader
Top Bahadur Rayamajhi of CPN-Maoist-Center, joined the
main opposition CPN-UML in demonstrations in Butwal. Going
against their party lines, leaders of ruling NC and CPN-Maoist-Center
also appealed to their supporters to participate in the
protests until the Government withdraws the Amendment
Bill. "The people are always above parties. That's
why I am here respecting the people’s will," CPN-Maoist
Center leader Rayamajhi declared, adding that any political
party without public support becomes irrelevant. Similarly,
NC leader Bhandari noted, "The seven-province federal
model was finalized after years of discussions so we cannot
make changes to the federal demarcations at the behest
of others. If anyone is not happy with federalism let's
go for a referendum."
Separately,
on November 30, 2016, the Nepal Magar Association
Central Committee and Joint Magar Manch – Nepal, at a
Press Conference held at the Reporters' Club Nepal in
Kathmandu, demanded the formation of an autonomous province
by integrating the Magar land in Provinces 4 and 5, when
the Government undertakes Constitutional amendment to
resolve the dispute dogging the provincial boundaries.
They also demanded guaranteeing inclusiveness based on
proportional representation of the ethnic population in
Parliament. The Magar community makes up 7.12 per cent
of the total population of Nepal.
Meanwhile,
on December 1, 2016, 27 NC lawmakers representing the
Tarai-Madhes region, criticized CPN-UML for describing
the Bill as an act of treason. The lawmakers observed,
“It feels like UML is heading to make the issue more complex
by obstructing the Parliament and taking to the streets.
These activities have sent out a message that the party
is against elections.” Expressing his confidence that
the Constitution Amendment Bill registered at the Parliament
would be endorsed by a majority, NC President Sher Bahadur
Deuba, stated, on December 2, 2016, “Not only will the
UDMF but also the CPN-UML vote in favor of the Constitution
amendment bill to the Constitution. UDMF and CPN-UML will
also vote in favor of the proposed Bill as the amendment
has been brought after consultation with all the political
parties.” He further said that the Government registered
the Constitution Amendment Bill after the main opposition
CPN-UML had consented, and after Madhesi and ethnic communities
reiterated their demands for the amendment.
With locals
in various mid-western Districts stepping up protests
against the Constitution amendment bill, the ruling NC
and CPN-Maoist Center are in a “wait and see” mood, before
taking any decision on their future course of action.
Leaders close to the top leaderships of NC and CPN-Maoist-Center
have now shelved their original plan to announce the date
for local level elections, as the agitating UDMF, for
whose sake the amendment proposal was introduced, has
also refused to own it. Moreover, the growing public grievances
over the Bill might spur clashes, the Ministry of Home
Affairs, on December 3, 2016, circulated special instructions
to the security agencies – Nepal Police, Armed Police
Force (APF) and National Intelligence Department (NID)
– to remain alert about the possible repetition of the
Tikapur incident of 2015. On August 24, 2015, eight people
including seven Policemen and a two-year-old boy died
when demonstrators protesting against proposals for administrative
reform clashed with the Police at Tikapur in Kailali District.
Scores of others were injured in the incident. The Ministry
has also instructed the security agencies to avoid excessive
use of force to control mobs.
The Constitution
Amendment Bill requires at least a two-thirds majority
vote in Parliament for endorsement. As the main opposition
party CPN-UML has objected to the amendment and the agitating
UDMF remains non-committal toward it, it is uncertain
whether the Bill secure passage through Parliament. With
anti-amendment protests spreading across the country,
it is going to be very tough for the Government to get
the amendment bill endorsed by Parliament without the
support of the CPN-UML. The Government will need the support
of all the other parties in Parliament if the CPN-UML
decides to vote against it – an unlikely proposition.
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