Nepal opposition to hold massive protest rally on Feb 28

Maoist-led opposition parties in Nepal will hold a massive protest rally in the capital next week to press the government over their demand of drafting the Constitution through consensus and ensure that it includes ethnic identity-based federal structure.
The 30-party opposition alliance has claimed to gather two lakh people in the capital on February 28 to give a "big jolt" to the Sushil Koirala-led government.
"If the ruling parties do not halt the process of drafting the constitution through majority voting, then we will intensify our agitation in March," CPN-UM spokesperson Dinanath Sharma told media at the party's central office in the capital today.

"In the first phase of the agitation, we will launch mild programmes such as rally, sit-in and public meetings but if the government turns deaf ear towards our demands we will intensify the protest after February 28," he said.
He, however, clarified that the protest programmes will be peaceful and within the boundary of the Interim Constitution.
Nepal's ruling and opposition parties are sharply divided on key issues in the Constitution-drafting process including federal structure and forms of governance.

The opposition alliance, which includes UCPN-Maoist, Joint Madhesi Front and other fringe parties, boycotted the Parliament and took to street to show their reservation after the ruling alliances, including Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, started Constitution drafting process through majority votes.

Opposition parties are also demanding an ethnic identity-based federal structure in the new Constitution which was initially supposed to be promulgated by January 22.
"Unless the government takes some concrete steps such as halting the process of drafting the constitution through majority votes, we will not come to the dialogue table," said Lilamani Pokharel, politburo member of the UCPN-Maoist.
The new constitution should be drafted taking into consideration the 12-point understanding reached between the Maoist rebels and the seven-party alliances in the past, the Comprehensive Peace Accord and the Interim Constitution, he demanded.