Constitution amendment proposal with consensus before Chhath: Nepal PM

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday said the Constitutional amendment proposal would be put forward in the House before the upcoming Chhath festival.

Asserting that the consensus of major political actors of Nepal will be taken, Dahal said the discussions were underway for the same, for tabling the proposal within next three weeks.

"The draft proposal is at its final stage," said Dahal.

The Prime Minister's statement holds importance in the wake of various madhesi organisations demanding two states for them, which requires an amendment in the Constitution.

The Prime Minister was addressing Parliament to inform about his visit to Indian state of Goa for BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit earlier this week, a report in the Himalayan Times said.

The government was doing further homework as dialogues so far had not been much fruitful so that it could be made more fruitful, he said.

Dahal claimed that concluding the Constitution amendment process in consensus of the main opposition CPN-UML and agitating parties and groups including Madhesis, Tharus and Janajatis was government's top priority.

While addressing the disgruntled groups, he ensured them that their concerns will be addressed.

Dahal also informed that local body restructuring process was moving ahead in consensus of major political parties.

After the Local Body Restructuring Commission would submit its report on time to ensure implementation of the Constitution, he was confident that the local body elections would be held by mid-April.

Dahal claimed that he ensured effective implementation of past agreements signed with India during his recent India visit for the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit and added that India had agreed to proceed with the financial cooperation pledged for major development projects including the Pancheshwor Multipurpose Project.

"This visit has helped us to strengthen Nepal-India ties existing for a long," the Prime Minister said.

He said that the bilateral meetings with leaders of India, China, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and South Africa were fruitful in developing ties with them.

Terming his "joint meeting" with Indian PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping a "happy coincidence," Dahal said that it should not be dragged into "unnecessary comments."

Urging that baseless comments could affect our relationships with our neighbours, he said that he felt proud that he could utilise the rare opportunity, which could have been impossible if it was planned.

The legislative body was informed by Dahal that the Chinese President had assured him to visit Nepal at the earliest, if not this year.

The PM in his around 45-minute long address did not mentioned the UML but had frequently targeted the opposition party, thereby rejecting the accusations it had made against his government on various occasions.