Nepal Govt. registers first amendment bill to address Madhesis' demands

The Government of Nepal today registered "first amendment bill" of the Constitution at Parliament Secretariat, which seeks to address the two major demands of Madhesis and indigenous communities.

According to The Himalayan Times, the amendment bill was registered seventeen days after the Constituent Assembly promulgated the new Constitution on September 20.

The amendment bill seeks to address proportional inclusion and make population the basis for delineating the electoral constituencies, the two major demands of Madhesis and indigenous communities.

The protestors have been demanding that the boundaries of federal units be determined to make two separate provinces by covering the entire Tarai-Madhes region.

However, the amendment bill does not include the issue of boundary.

The three major parties of Nepal, Congress, CPN-UML and Unified CPN-Maoist, say that the issue can be addressed through a federal commission, to be formed as per the provision of the new Constitution that will make recommendations on it within one year.

Minister for Law, Justice, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs Narahari Acharya said that the amendment bill was registered as per Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala's commitment made in the CA on September 13.

The bill seeks amendment to five provisions of Articles 42, 84 and 286 to address the two issues.

On Tuesday, the meeting between Nepal's three major parties and UDMF had ended inconclusively as the latter demanded concrete agenda on various issues for talks.

The Madhesis and other communities in Nepal have been saying that the new Constitution does not give them equal rights.