The constitutional amendment issue, which Congress and UML have made the main means of justifying the power coalition, has been limited to political discussion. Even though the leaders of the two parties have talked about the amendment of the constitution in the parliament and public forum, homework has not been started for it.

In order to justify the rare practice of two major parties in the Parliament running the government together, the Congress and the UML made the constitutional amendment a top priority while agreeing on seven points on June 17. Accordingly, the two-party top meeting held on December 10 with the political mechanism decided to form three working groups to work on the amendment of the constitution.

The two parties have not yet sent representatives to the working group formed to work on the constitution amendment agenda. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, while speaking in Parliament on Friday, claimed that the two parties have formed a working group with experts for constitutional amendment. 

According to an official of the Congress, whether or not even a constitutional expert will participate in the working group and at what level the working group will be formed is still in confusion. Home Minister Ramesh Akhtar said that the statement from the Prime Minister meant that the task force had been formed but the representative to sit on it was yet to be sent.

'Both the Prime Minister and the Speaker from the Congress have said that they will review, study and amend the Constitution. For that, a working group was formed between the two parties in the first phase. The only thing left to do is to decide who will go there," he said. The minister said that the discussion about sending an experienced person who can work on constitutional study and amendment issues is ongoing from both parties and it will be decided within a few days. 

Prime Minister Oli told the Parliament about the two parties' plans for the process of constitutional amendment even though the work did not go ahead. According to him, in the first stage, the working group will discuss with pro-government parties and identify the issues of constitutional amendment. The issues identified in that way will be discussed with the parties and stakeholders who are represented in the parliament or outside.

'Parties may have their own views and positions. A common opinion will be formed on the things that are agreed, debates and discussions will be held on the things that are not agreed,' Oli said, 'It is the government's job to bring the Constitution Amendment Bill, the government will make a common opinion based on the conclusions based on the debate/discussion. It will prepare an amendment proposal based on that.

UML Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai said that since the decision to form a working group has been made, the discussion will proceed as soon as the representatives who will be in it are selected. "This is not a working group of the government, as it is a party working group between two parties, in addition to the political leadership, some constitutional experts will also be included in it," he said. "The working group members will be appointed soon." The work begins. There is still two and a half years left in the term of the Parliament, so there is no rush.' 

The two parties have similar views on many issues regarding the constitution amendment agenda. The main opposition Maoist and smaller parties are becoming more suspicious of the agenda carried by the two parties. Especially the Maoists have been protesting with the suspicion that they are trying to change the electoral system by narrowing proportional inclusion. 

The main opposition Maoists objected to the working group that was supposed to be formed between the two parties. Maoists say that an all-party working group should be formed for the amendment of the constitution, not of two parties. Maoist Secretary Devendra Poudel said that it is wrong to say that the constitution made by the common people will be amended by linking it with the transactions of the government.

There is a government and an opposition in the functioning and activities of the government. But since the constitution is linked to the system and system, there are no pros and cons to it," he said. "In principle, the Maoists did not say that the constitution should not be amended. But 30 million people are concerned about why the amendment was necessary and why it had to be done. It will not be done by agreement of two parties, all citizens, intellectuals, even the political party represented in the parliament, must agree.' 

Prime Minister Oli and Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba both said on Friday that the constitution will be amended based on consensus in the parliament. Although the language and style are different, Oli and Deuba have been on the same side on the issue of constitutional amendment. Both the leaders have said that amendment of the constitution is necessary for political stability. They are also committed to not letting the principles of proportionality and inclusiveness prevail. 

Constitution is a tool for the welfare of the country and the people, not the end. The constitution is not an unamendable subject either. It has been 10 years since we made the constitution. Now it's time to review it. When we said this, some people even said that amending the constitution is a step backwards,' Oli said in the parliament, 'But today, when I see that the same forces are talking about the amendment of the constitution again, I am happy that they are also starting to carry this issue.' 

Deuba also said that the constitution will be amended as per the need. "When amending the constitution, the basic features of the constitution including inclusiveness and federal democratic republican governance system with multi-party competition based on pluralism should not be weakened. The constitution should be amended on the basis of consensus among political parties," said Deuba, "we have already started discussions on this. We should move forward with dialogue, agreement and cooperation with other political parties.' 

An official of the Congress said that although it was said to amend the constitution on the basis of all-party consensus, both the leaders are taking steps based on the arithmetic of the parliament. "If the Constitution is to be amended only on the basis of national consensus, why is it necessary to look at the arithmetic of the Parliament?" said the Congress official, "The leadership of the two parties has been delaying the amendment process by looking at the structure of the National Assembly." 

Constitution amendment requires two-thirds majority in both houses of the Federal Parliament. Although there is a possibility of getting two-thirds support of the government in the House of Representatives, there is no such arithmetic in the National Assembly. In the 59-member National Assembly, 40 MPs are needed to garner the support of two-thirds of MPs, but now there are only 26 MPs, including 16 from the Congress and 11 from the UML (one nominee). For a simple majority in the National Assembly, the government has to persuade other small parties as well.