HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Uphold constitution in letter and spirit : PM
‘Fault lies not in constitution’

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov 8:Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and main opposition leader Madhav Kumar Nepal today expressed striking differences regarding the amendment of the Constitution, promulgated after the restoration of democracy in 1990.

Koirala stood by his stance that it would not be wise to seek repeated amendment while Nepal said fundamental reform in all sectors including the Constitution was needed to put an end to the perversions seen in the past ten years of democratic exercise.

The two leaders however had their views converging when they reacted towards the five year long Maoist insurgency. Both of them denounced the violence being unleashed by the Maoists and said the Maoists’ violence, in no way, be a panacea to the people.

"We should gear all our efforts to uphold the provisions of the Constitution in its letter and spirit rather than seek its amendment," Koirala told a talk programme organised here today.

Koirala said those exercising the Constitutional provisions could have faults but the Constitution itself was not faulty.

"We would only be inviting instability if we seek repeated amendment of the Constitution, all the political players should instead live up to the Constitutional norms and values for political and economic stability," he said.

Koirala was speaking at a programme jointly organised by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Society for Constitutional and Parliamentary Exercise (SCOPE) at the Birendra International Convention Centre to mark the Constitution Day.

"The competition among political parties to strengthen their organisational base led to the politicisation of all societal organs including the government machinery after the restoration of democracy," Koirala said.

He attributed the rampant politicisation of institutions as the root cause of the perversions that surfaced in the past ten years of democratic exercise.

He underscored the need to bring about a social uprising to control corruption, which he said had turned out to be an invisible enemy of the society.

"The Bill seeking to empower the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has been put before the parliament and there are reasons to hope that corruption would be controlled after the Bill is passed by the Parliament," Koirala said.

Koirala responding to the need to make amendments in the Constitution for free, fair and impartial elections expressed by Nepal said the government would initiate the necessary reforms after the all-party committee formed to forward recommendation on the modalities of the election submitted its report.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Mahanta Thakur said the Constitution of Nepal 1990 had provided the fundamental rights to the people and upheld a bright prospect for the all round development of the country.

Following the promulgation of the new Constitution every individual has been given legal protection and the rule of law in the country has been established, Thakur said.

Main Opposition leader and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal said the traditional attitude of the Nepalese to stick to the social structure already there has been the major obstacle for development.

"The need of the hour is to go for change and reform in all sectors including the Constitution if the country is to take a stride forward in the development front," Nepal said.

He said it was surprising why the politicians and the general people in Nepal had become the slaves of the prevailing situation marked by corruption and individualistic attitudes when the nation has alternative political parties that have the potentials to give a positive direction to the country.

"The country is now in the hands of corrupt politicians and the Mafia, the people are tired of rhetoric on corruption control, they rather would want to see people penalised for their wrong doings," Nepal said.

Former Speaker Daman Nath Dhungana portrayed a grim picture while dwelling on the achievements of the past ten years of democratic exercise.

"The past decade of democratic exercise has witnessed extreme politicisation of all sectors, the poor are getting poorer and their voices have not been given due attention," Dhungana said.

He said that the Constitution had been used as a means to rise to power and the distance between the electorate and the Parliament had increased over the years.

Senior advocate Ganesh Raj Sharma said the whole essence of the Constitution was based on rectifying past lapses on the basis of the precedence set and making the desired changes.

He said that regardless of the poor economic status of the Nepalese people and their illiteracy they have shown that they can bring about a complete change in the society giving way to a Constitution that protects their interest.

Dwelling on the achievements of the past ten years of democratic exercise, Sharma said a democratic system of accepting and rejecting any political party on the basis of its performance had been established in the country.

The consensus among the political parties reveals that there is the need to improve the Constitutional provisions instead of going for its amendment, he said.

SCOPE President Purna Man Shakya said unless the ruling and the opposition parties joined hands to address the problems of the nation, the ongoing process of consolidating multiparty democracy would witness a setback.

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