Kathmandu, October 3
Parliament Secretariat is preparing to conclude the budget session of Parliament this week after it received government communication that it was not going to table the constitution amendment bill before Dashain.
According to a secretariat source, the Speaker is likely to make a formal announcement to this effect on Tuesday.
This comes as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s government is working on a bill to amend the constitution to address the demands of the Madheshi Morcha, and a separate bill to amend election-related laws. However, drafts of the pieces of legislation is yet to be ready.
Nepal’s main opposition party UML and the Madheshi Morcha, which has been protesting the constitution but backing the Dahal government, have criticised the government for delaying the tabling of the bills. While the Morcha says the government has backtracked on its promise to amend the constitution at the earliest, the UML says Dahal is trying to evade elections.
However, according to a Nepali Congress source, ruling allies have not reached a consensus on the amendment proposal. Fresh attempts to forge consensus are likely to be taken after the Dashain break.
