Constituent Assembly amendment Bill likely to be tabled in Nepal today
7 Jul 2008, 1512 Hrs

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Kathmandu, July 7 (ANI): The three major parties including the Maoist, the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) and the Madhes-based parties will today table another supplementary amendment bill at a Constituent Assembly to address the issues raised by Madhesi parties.

During a meeting on Sunday, parties' top leaders said that a new supplementary bill was essential to calm down the Madhesi parties' protest, which has led to prolonged adjournment of the Constituent Assembly meet, Kantipur reported.

The parties agreed that the government would prepare a new bill either by replacing the previously registered bill with a new one or by just inserting a new clause in the existing bill.

Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi said the parties are considering whether to use terminologies like "autonomous Madhes province" or "Madhesi people's desire for autonomous province" or "the desire for autonomous provinces" in the bill.

He said the Madhesi parties have shown some flexibility on the terminologies to be used in the bill.

Nepali Congress vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel said the seven parties would try to bring a bill that will be acceptable to the Madhes parties.

However, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) President Upendra Yadav said, "We will accept the new supplementary bill if it adopts the March agreement reached between Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and United Democratic Madhesi Front. If it does not incorporate the spirit of that agreement, then we will again reject it."

The Madhesi parties have been demanding constitutional guarantee of 'autonomous Madhes province' and 'group entry' of the Madhesis into the Nepal Army. (ANI)