Amendment bill was official proposal of NC: Deputy PM Nidhi

Nepal's Constitution amendment bill was the official proposal of the Nepali Congress and Parliament will pass it with two-thirds majority, Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister has said.
The government registered the bill in Parliament last Tuesday with an aim to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties and other ethnic groups and requires a two-thirds majority in the 594-strong House.
Addressing the claims of the agitating parties that the decision requires further in-depth discussions, Bimalendra Nidhi said that the parties were engaged in deliberations on the amendment for the past one year.
He said the personal views of some party leaders would not change the Nepali Congress' position on statute amendment.

"The bill will be revised and passed if that is required," Nidhi said at a programme organised by Nepal Press Union in Chitwan yesterday.
Noting that the government was preparing to hold local polls within five months, Nidhi refuted the CPN-UML's allegation that the proposal was anti-national.

"When the amendment bill is proposed by KP Oli, it is nationalistic. How come it is anti-national when we propose it?" Nidhi questioned.
"It was political dishonesty on the part of the CPN-UML to term the bill anti-national," he added.
He said the provisions regarding the demarcation of Province 5 were determined when Oli was the Prime Minister.

The Constitution amendment bill aims to address the demands of the Madhes-based parties, mainly over the provincial boundaries, citizenship, language and representation in the Upper House.
However, the parties have not come to an agreement about the amendment bill.
The Madhesi Front refused to back the bill, saying it was not acceptable in its current discriminatory form.
The Constitution promulgated last year could not be implemented due to the agitation by the Madhesis.
The Madhesi parties and ethnic groups have been demanding more rights and representation for the marginalised people.
Re-demarcation of the provincial boundaries and citizenship issue are the two major demands put forth by the Madhesis.

The Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a six-month agitation from September last year to February this year in which more than 50 people were killed. The agitation had also crippled the landlocked country's economy as supplies from India were blocked.