Parties agree to remove procedural hitches regarding SRC report

PRAKASH ACHARYA

KATHMANDU: A meeting between Constituent Assembly Chairman Subas Nembang and parliamentary party leaders of three major parties today decided to remove procedural hitches regarding the State Restructuring Commission report and ways to deal with the issues that cannot be endorsed by a simple majority of CA full house.

The SRC report will be at first discussed at CA full house and then will be forwarded to the Constitutional Committee for further processing as per today’s agreement, sources said.

Even other issues that cannot be endorsed at the CA full house through simple majority will be forwarded to the CC to settle them through consensus. The CC is mandated to compile the contents, which are unanimously agreed upon at the CC or are endorsed by the CA full house through simple majority, and prepare the first draft of the new constitution. Since existing CA regulation is silent about how to present the SRC report at CA and what to do in the event of CA full house’s failure to endorse the contents of the new statute through simple majority, today’s agreement will help remove the procedural difficulties. The parties, however, are left with no option but consensus as it is still not clear what will happen if the CC fails to forge consensus on disputed issues. The parties have also agreed on amending the CA regulation to implement today’s agreement.

SRC had submitted its report on federalism about more than a month and a half ago.

Unified CPN-Maoist had been demanding that the report be discussed at CA’s Committee on State Restructuring and Distribution of State Powers while the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML were for discussing it either at the CA full house or at the CC. With parties having different opinions, CA had been unable to deliberate on the report, though it was submitted on January 31.

Though a report prepared by CA’s state restructuring panel had recommended 14 autonomous states, the nine-member Madan Pariyar-led SRC had proposed 10 federal units, along with a non-territorial unit for the Dalits, who do not have their cluster territory to ensure their political representation. However, dissenting minority members of the commission had suggested six federal units, objecting to some other issues.

As per today’s agreement, CA Chairman Nembang will table the SRC report at the CA full house where it will be discussed before it is forwarded to the CC for further processing, said Nepali Congress Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire.

Source:- http://thehimalayantimes.com