Fifth amendment : Madhesis boycott tabling of bill

House meets after 12 days • Prachanda for autonomous states Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Narendra Bikram Nembang today tabled the Fifth Amendment Bill designed to amend the interim constitution in the legislative session of the Constituent Assembly, which was held following its continuous disruption by the Madhesi ... ...since June 26.However, the four Madhes-based parties — Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum, Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party, Sadbhavana Party, some of the members of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party and Nepal Dalit Janajati Party — boycotted the meeting well before minister Nembang tabled the bill.They boycotted the meeting after the House rejected the “protest notice” tabled by MJF leader JP Gupta, who had demanded that the bill be withdrawn, as it did not reflect the letter and spirit of the February 28 agreement reached between the government and the then United Democratic Madhesi Front.Addressing the House, Gupta said the Madhesi people would get a message that the CA was irrelevant to the Madhesi people if the Fifth Amendment Bill was tabled and passed as it was.He said the spirit of the February 28 agreement was for One Madhes, One Pradesh. “But we wanted to leave this issue to be decided by the CA,” Gupta said, adding: “But the three major parties spread the rumour that we wanted an assurance for single autonomous Madhes in the interim constitution.After the bill was tabled, the CA legislative session was adjourned for half-an-hour. Minister Nembang tabled another proposal at the House asking it to consider the bill in which 19 CA members aired their views on theoretical aspect of the bill as told by acting CA chairman Kul Bahadur Gurung.Earlier, Madhesi leaders — Upendra Yadav of MJF, Mahantha Thakur of TMDP, Rajendra Mahato of Sadbhavana Party, Sarita Giri of NSP-A and Bishendra Paswan of Nepal Janjati Dalit Party — aired their views regarding the proposal of the Fifth Amendment Bill. All the Madhesi leaders condemned the government and partners of the seven-party alliance for ignoring the February 28 agreement.Addressing the CA legislative meeting for the first time, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” said his party was fully committed to implement the February agreement for which, he said, he had played an important role.“We have serious differences on some issues. Still, I believe that the February agreement was an important agreement that helped hold the CA polls,” said Dahal, adding: “I am politically and morally committed to the agreement, as it is also the issue of the whole nation.Defending the proposal of the Fifth Amendment Bill, Prachanda said the Bill had accommodated the spirit of the February agreement though the Madhesi parties were not fully satisfied with it. He added that his party was fully committed to the federalism with full autonomy to the provinces.The house was adjourned till Sunday. The second session of the House also passed the proposal to consider the fifth amendment bill with a majority vote.

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