Kathmandu, April 11
The government has withdrawn a constitution amendment bill it registered in Parliament five months ago to address the demands of the Madheshi Morcha.
Law Minister Ajay Shanker Nayak announced the decision at a meeting of Parliament on Tuesday. The decision has been endorsed by a simple majority of the House. The main opposition, UML, however, stayed silent.
Nayak said the bill was being withdrawn because parties in the opposition had some reservations about it. The government had on November 29, 2016, registered an amendment bill in Parliament. It had proposed a revision of the boundaries of two provinces — keeping the region east of Bardaghat in Nawalparasi district and the eastern part of Rukum district in Province No. 4, and the region west of Bardaghat in Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Dang, Banke and Bardia districts in Province No. 5.
According to sources, the government is preparing to file a fresh amendment proposal in Parliament to address the concerns of the opposition and that of the Madheshi Morcha. The new amendment bill, which puts the issue of provincial boundaries on hold, has already been endorsed by the Cabinet.
