Big three fail to finalise draft supplementary bill

KATHMANDU, July 2 - A meeting of the top leaders of the three largest parties--- CPN-Maoist, CPN-UML and Nepali Congress (NC) --- scheduled to finalise the draft of a supplementary bill introduced to address the demands raised by the Madhes-based parties for the statute amendment ended without a decision on ... ...meeting was expected to give a final form to the draft since the three-party taskforce had failed to draft a supplementary constitution amendment bill due to some differences over the definition of a "Madhes autonomous region" and "group entry" of certain communities into the Nepal Army in the supplementary bill.The meeting held at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction has agreed to take the decision after consulting with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today, the leaders participating in the meeting said.Emerging from the meeting, Maoist chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal informed that the UML and the Maoists have been maintaining that the statute amendment should guarantee the right to autonomous provinces for all ethnic groups and marginalised communities as per the agreements forged with all the groups including the Madhes-based parties.The NC has mention "Madhes autonomous province" in the supplementary bill as per the agreement reached between the government and the Madhes-based parties on February 28.The ruling three parties and the Madhes-based parties Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF), Terai-Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) and Mahato-led Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP-M) had agreed to address the Madhesi demands through the amendment to the interim constitution, at a meeting held yesterday.The three-party taskforce comprising Gurung of the Maoists, NC's Bimalendra Nidhi and UML's Bhim Rawal was supposed to hand over the draft to the cabinet on Tuesday before its presentation at the Constituent Assembly (CA) meeting.After the taskforce failed to prepare the draft, the CA meeting was also postponed till Wednesday through a notice.CA session put off till Thursday 3pm With the demands put forth by the Madhes-based parties still not fulfilled, the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held in its capacity as the legislative parliament was disrupted for the fifth consecutive time on Wednesday.Today's CA session was put off after the Madhesi lawmakers started chanting slogans and picketing the rostrum.Following the protests, other CA members expressed their concern stating their right to speech had been violated.The CA session was adjourned till Thursday 3pm since the Madhesi lawmakers turned a deaf ear to CA chairman Kul Bahadur Gurung's request to let other CA members to speak.With the major three parties Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist unable to give the final form to the draft of a supplementary bill proposed to address the Madhesi demands on Wednesday, the supplementary amendment bill was not tabled at today's CA session.The Madhesi lawmakers have been disrupting the parliamentary CA session since last Thursday pressing the government to include the provisions of Madhes autonomous region and mass recruitment for Madhesis in the security bodies in the fifth amendment to the interim constitution.

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