RPP-N Chair Kamal Thapa in Friday's CA session. Photo: Bikram Rai RPP-N Chair Kamal Thapa in Friday's CA session. Photo: Bikram Rai

The Hindu-Royalist Rashtriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) obstructed the Constituent Assembly (CA) session on Friday, protesting what it said was aconspiracy by the top parties to deceive the people by adding a provision for religious conversion.

As soon as the CA session started to deliberate on the new constitution's preliminary draft RPP-N Chair Kamal Thapa asked for time to speak and said: "The draft tabled is different than the one passed by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), this is a conspiracy against people."

Thapa also lambasted the major parties for incorporating the rights to religious conversation “at the behest of the European Union (EU)”.

When Nembang requested Thapa to abstain from the use of the word “conspiracy”, he and other RPP-N lawmakers started shouting slogans against what they said was dictatorship by the major parties.

Despite five hours of continuous sloganeering by the RPP-N, deliberations on the draft begun on Friday. The major parties have agreed to give three minutes to each CA member to express their views on the version of the constitution.

kamal1 Marshals stop the RPP-N lawmakers from moving towards the rostrum. Photo: Bikram Rai

If all the CA members want to say something about the draft, the CA session will take  a total of 30 hours. But it is unlikely as the NC UML and the UCPN (M) want to fast-track the constitution writing process so as to usher in a government of national unity in which they will all have a part. They will probably allow only a few lawmakers from their parties to speak.

As per an understanding among the parties that signed the constitution's draft, a CA session held on Wednesday has already suspended the clause 93 (3) of the CA Rules of Procedure a to which one week should have been allotted for the CA members to read the draft thoroughly.

The major parties have also agreed to suspend more clauses and cut short time for public consultation, deliberation within the CA's Constitutional, Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (CPDCC), discussions on all the articles of the constitution, revision of the draft and finalising it.

But the major parties have yet to agree on how many days will be allotted for each of these processes. The CA's Public Consultation Committee has sought at least 15 days to gather people's views on the draft. But preparations are underway to suspend the clause 94 to allot only 10 days for public consultation. Similarly, the CPDCC is likely to get just two days for holding discussions on the draft.

As per the clause 99, at least one week should be allotted for amending the draft. But this clause is also being suspended with only two days set aside for this. The draft was prepared in 18 days but the CDC will now get only five days to fianlise it. Preparations are also underway to complete the article-wise deliberations on the draft in one week.

Federal Socialist Party Nepal, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Sadbhavana Party and other fringe parties that disowned the constitution's draft have objected to suspensions of the clauses to fast-track the constitution writing process. They say it is unconstitutional and will be obstructing the house to protest it.

But the major parties say they will move forward despite opposition from the fringe parties and declare the new constitution in less than one month's time.