Constitutional Amendment
Hectic Discussions On

By Ritu Raj Subedi

THE nation’s political and intellectual elite are now hectically engaged in discussions about the amendment in the Constitution after the chiefs of the ruling and opposition parties agreed to do so. The issue received further highlight when the government nodded positively to this agenda with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s announcement that the government was ready to amend the Constitution if political forces of the country hammer out a consensus to the points of the amendment.

Behind the rationale of the amendment, the key political parties argued that such move was not only imperative but a must to resolve the law and order problem and economic crisis facing the nation.

Meeting Point

They viewed that the idea was floated to find a meeting point between the parliamentary parties and the underground CPN-Maoist, which is branded terrorists by the state after it threatened by attacking the army, an ultimate base of nation’s security.

The other logic is that there must be some revisions in the main law of the land to bring drastic changes in the social, economic and political fronts as well as to curb rampant corruption.

Nonetheless, the question may arise: Can the much-talked about Constitutional Amendment be instrumental in bringing the Maoists into mainstream politics as claimed by the heads of the two major parties in the country? But the Maoists have not yet responded to the amendment proposal. It is yet to be seen.

After the nation was plunged into the cycle of violence and economic slump, the political actors seem to have seen no alternative but find shortcomings in the Constitution hampering the right functioning of the state.

However, there is no dearth of critics who blame that the political parties twisted the discussion on the amendment to veil their ineptitude in handling state affairs after the reinstatement of multi-party democracy in 1990. For the bundle of distortions and anomalies that raised their head during the 12-year-long democratic practice, the popular sentiments have it that it was not the Constitution, but bad governance, insincerity and corruption bent mind of the politicians.

Some experts, who were involved in drafting the Constitution, plead that it is not the proper time to amend the Constitution when the state of emergency has been imposed in the country to tame the terrorists and restore peace. Some ruling party leaders are also against the amendment move. They say that the Constitution should not be blamed for the sorry state of the country.

However, amending the basic law of the land should not have become the subject of such intense controversy. Indeed, the Constitution itself has made clear provisions on how changes dictated by the requirements and realities of the times are enacted. There should not be hue and cry regarding the issue because it is a worldwide natural political process to give dynamism to steer the nation.

Besides, there must be a total involvement of the people from different walks of life in the amendment debate since it would have a far-reaching impact on the national social and political life. The Constitution is not a property of any individual party. The amendment should not be directed to fulfil the interests of any party. It cannot be a ladder for someone to come to power. If there is to be an amendment, it must encompass the people’s sentiment and democratic spirit. Moreover, the process should further consolidate the hard-won multi-party democracy.

There can be no disagreement anyone that the amendment should address the burning problems of the country. If the amendment can’t succeed in resolving the social, economic, law and order and other problems, it would have no meaning. Thus, the main thrust of the amendment agenda should concentrate on tackling the Maoist problem peacefully and politically because the six-year-old insurgency has some crippling impact on social, political and economic structures. It is the main worry of the nation. The focus must be here.

Likewise, there should be clear-cut provisions for the transparent functioning of the political parties. The Constitution must compel them to follow a code of conduct.

Some have even mentioned the need for a caretaker government to hold free and fair elections and national government at the time of crisis. The ideas are not bad in themselves. However, a caretaker government consisting of people not belonging to any party might also be effective in conducting elections. The people represented in such a government should not be candidates in the elections. Moreover, the Election Commission should be made powerful during elections like in India. The Commission should be equipped with all the requirements for it to handle matters efficiently and conveniently.

More Power

The Constitutional bodies such Public Service Commission and Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority should be granted more power for ensuring good governance and corruption free society.

Likewise, the issue of decentralisation and self-autonomy and the problems of the downtrodden and ethnic communities must be the points for discussion. The Constitution should also address the feelings of the millions of ethnic and indigenous people.

Other Stories

• Tea Output Meeting The Demand