Kathmandu, July 7: Four political parties have warned they will withdraw from the government’s Constitution Amendment Discussion Paper Task Force, questioning its legitimacy, mandate, and overall purpose.
The parties have demanded that the government clearly explain which constitutional provisions it intends to amend and why before asking the task force to prepare a discussion paper.
In a joint letter submitted on Monday, CPN leader Dev Gurung, JSP leader Surendra Jha, LSP leader Laxman Lal Karna, and Rastriya Jan Morcha leader Manoj Bhatt informed task force coordinator Asim Shah that they would not participate in preparing the report unless the government clarified its position on key constitutional issues.
The four leaders, who are members of the task force, said they had repeatedly sought clarity from the outset regarding the purpose, legality, and jurisdiction of the body, but the government had failed to respond.
“Since the very beginning of the task force meetings, we have repeatedly questioned the rationale and legitimacy of the government’s discussion paper,” the letter states. “We have consistently asked the government to clarify the task force’s jurisdiction, identify which constitutional provisions it seeks to amend, explain the reasons behind the proposed amendments, and present its overall concept. None of these concerns has been addressed so far.”
The parties also argued that if the government is serious about amending the Constitution, the current discussion paper process should be scrapped.
Their letter further demands a written commitment from the government that the Constitution’s preamble and its fundamental principles and values will remain untouched. It also calls for an all party meeting of leaders representing parties in the Federal Parliament to build national consensus before initiating any amendment process.
“If these issues are not addressed, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to participate in the ongoing process of preparing the government’s discussion paper on behalf of our respective parties,” the letter says.
The task force is currently drafting its final report after collecting public feedback. It has claimed to have received around 41,000 suggestions, but members say they have not been informed about the nature or content of those submissions.
Task force member Manoj Bhatt said the government had tried to reassure them verbally but had failed to provide the written commitments they sought.
“We have asked for written assurances on issues related to the Constitution and the existing political system,” Bhatt said.
The task force’s tenure is scheduled to expire on July 9.
People’s News Monitoring Service
Login to add a comment