Chitwan, December 7
Senior Nepali Congress leader and a close ally of party chief Sher Bahadur Deuba, Bimalendra Nidhi says the government’s constitution amendment proposal will be passed by Parliament.
Nidhi, who played an instrumental role in preparing the draft proposal, was speaking at a programme in Chitwan on Wednesday morning. The Home Minister also added that the proposal has the full backing of the Nepali Congress.
Nidhi said UML chief KP Oli’s showed double standards by opposing the amendment bill. Oli started the constitution amendment process by passing a Cabinet resolution, and now he’s calling the whole thing ‘anti-national’, he added. “This is not acceptable.”
The minister’s statement comes as the principal opposition party, the UML, has called for nation-wide protests against the government’s proposal to separate hill districts from Province 5 to address the demands of the Madheshi Morcha.
While Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s government enjoys a slim two-third majority in Parliament, RPP, a component of the ruling coalition, has already said it cannot support the amendment bill. The Nepali Congress is yet to make its official stance on the bill clear.
