The Hindu : Front Page : Parliament reconvenes in Nepal

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Saturday, Apr 29, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Parliament reconvenes in Nepal

Siddharth Varadarajan

Resolution on constituent assembly tabled; debate, vote on Sunday

DEMOCRACY ENTHRONED: Speaker of the Nepalese Parliament Chitralekha Yadav addresses the House at the first session of the reinstated Parliament in Kathmandu on Friday. — Photo: AP

Kathmandu: As thousands of people kept up a noisy vigil outside the handsome whitewashed gates of the Singha Darbar, seat of Nepal's government, parliamentarians meeting on Friday for the first time in four years loudly applauded the tabling of a resolution calling for elections to a constituent assembly.

The resolution — which took the form of a letter written by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala — was read out by Deputy Speaker Chitra Lekha Yadav. Mr. Koirala was unable to attend the session due to an infection of bronchitis. His illness also meant the Grand Old Man of the Nepali Congress could not formally be sworn in Prime Minister. His nephew, Shekhar Koirala, said Mr. Koirala was expected to recover in time for the next sitting of Parliament on Sunday. "He will be sworn in Prime Minister on that day."

Koirala's message

In his message, Mr. Koirala proposed that Parliament commit itself to the election of a constituent assembly, in keeping with the demands of the janandolan, or people's movement, as well as the 12-point agreement reached with the Maoists last November. He also proposed that the terrorist tag be removed from the Maoists and that a ceasefire be declared by the government in order to facilitate the peace process with the rebels. As Ms. Yadav read out each of these proposals, MPs loudly thumped their desks in approval. One MP who conspicuously did not applaud was Budhiman Tamang, a former Minister in King Gyanendra's Cabinet.

In a major semantic shift that was symbolic of the changed political circumstances, Ms. Yadav in her remarks ditched the old word for democracy — prajatantra — in favour of "loktantra." The message, of course, is that the Nepalese are no longer subjects but citizens.

Mr. Koirala's proposals were seconded formally by Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), the former Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and other leaders of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA). The House was then adjourned till 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The proposals themselves will be discussed on that day before being formally approved. "The idea is not so much to pass a Bill as for Parliament to commit itself to elections to a constituent assembly," Jhala Nath Khanal, a senior leader of the CPN (UML) told The Hindu . "Parliament will set the direction for government, which must then fix the date for elections and also work out the modalities."

Prominent demonstrators

Prominent among the demonstrators outside the Singha Darbar were representatives of Nepal's different ethnic and tribal groups such as the Newars, Magars, Sherpas and Gurungs, most of whom are marginalised in the current political system. Marching under the banner of the Nepal Magar Mahila Sangh, for example, Kavita Alemagar, a famous singer, said Nepal's janajatis were in favour of a constituent assembly that would protect their rights. "All Nepalis have suffered a lot these past few years but now we are conscious and alert and will not give up the struggle till there is a new constitution."

Asked about specific changes, Mr. Alemagar said Nepal should not remain a Hindu nation. "People of all religions live in Nepal. There are Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and others. That is why the state must be secular." The demand for a "dharmanipeksh," or secular, state figured prominently in the slogans of the demonstrators on Friday.

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