In what looks like a tactical move to strip the disgruntled Madhesi parties of their agenda, the major political parties are now having second thoughts about their 16-point deal.
On 8 June, the four major parties – the NC, the UML, the UCPN (Maoist) and the MJF (Democratic) –had signed a constitution deal putting on hold the task of naming and demarcating federal provinces.
However, it now looks like they want to revise the deal and demarcate federal units before promulgating the new constitution.
MJF (Democratic) Chair Bijaya Gachhadar told journalists on Saturday that boundaries of federal provinces will be determined before promulgating the constitution. “We will settle the demarcation row the way we inked the 16-point deal,” he said. “We all are working on it.”
Gachhadar spills the beans at a time when President Ram Baran Yadav and Constituent Assembly (CA) Chair Subhas Nembang have urged the parties to demarcate federal provinces before passing the constitution.
“The parties can settle the dispute over boundaries of federal units within half an hour if they intend to do so,” Nembang told a group of journalists in Kathmandu on Saturday. “As the major contentious issues are already settled, demarcating federal units will not be that difficult.”
Nembang advised the top political leaders to use the two weeks allocated for collection of people’s suggestions on the constitution’s draft to settle the demarcation row.
The CA members are now visiting their respective constituencies to interact with people and collect their feedback on the draft. “This time can be used by the top leaders to demarcate federal units,” he said.
A day ago, President Ram Baran Yadav had also urged the parties to settle the demarcation row before promulgating the constitution.
Naming and demarcating federal units are the main political agendas of the Madhesi parties. They have threatened to disown the new constitution if it will be without names and boundaries of federal units. They see the 16-point deal as a ploy to sabotage federalism.
If the major parties forge a consensus on boundaries of federal units and the Madhesi parties accept it, implementing the new constitution will be much easier.