The Balendra Shah-led government, which received close to two-thirds of the vote after the election on February 21, has prioritized constitutional amendment in the government's policy and program for the upcoming fiscal year. The first point of the policy and program presented by President Ram Chandra Poudel while addressing both houses of the federal parliament on Monday includes the subject of constitutional amendment.

'The formation of a government led by a single political party with a clear majority in the House of Representatives after the election is a historic opportunity for political stability, policy clarity and transformative reforms for the country. The government will adopt good governance as the foundation of a prosperous Nepal and pursue zero tolerance against corruption, improvement in public service delivery, economic revival and social progress as a campaign,' the policy and program states. 'To ensure equal ownership of all classes, regions and communities, a 'Constitutional Amendment Debate Paper' will be prepared by identifying common issues for constitutional amendment based on dialogue and collaboration with political parties.' The government will continue to ensure full implementation of the 100 agendas of governance reforms put forward by the government.'

While the government is prioritizing the amendment of the constitution, Prime Minister Shah's advisor Asim Shah was taking suggestions from the media leadership on the constitution amendment debate paper at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

The policy and program brought by the government also includes the constitution, transitional justice, human rights and corruption. It is mentioned in the 84 points of the policy and program that a justice system with compensation will be developed by ensuring equal access for all citizens.

It is said that free legal aid will be expanded for the poor and helpless citizens. It is mentioned that the transitional justice process related to the armed conflict will be brought to a conclusion as soon as possible. However, the ordinance recently brought by the government has dismissed the officials of the Truth and Reconciliation and Enforced Disappearances Commission. This process, which has been dragging on for about 19 years, has been included in the policies and programs of every government, but has not been resolved.

Similarly, the policy and program claims that the law formulation, amendment and implementation process will be made fast, quality and result-oriented by strengthening the coordination and interconnection between the executive and the legislature. The program states that the prosecution system will be based on facts, technology and scientific research, and that immediate relief, compensation and support will be provided to crime victims. The program states that the legal time limit of each service will be set and the officer who violates it will be automatically held accountable.

The policy and program states that the investigation, prosecution and action system will be made effective by institutionally strengthening the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority and restructuring the National Vigilance Center as an 'Anti-Corruption Unit'. It states that arrangements will be made for protecting the identity and rewarding corruption complainants and that the property details of high-ranking officials will be made public annually. Similarly, the government's program states that the protection and promotion of human rights will be strengthened and national and international commitments will be effectively implemented and zero tolerance for human rights violations will be adopted. It states that the capacity of the National Human Rights Commission will be enhanced.

It is mentioned that the national resources, means and capabilities will be mobilized fairly based on the ruling party's pledge and the common commitments of the major political parties to ensure social justice, equitable opportunities and rapid economic development through responsible good governance. It is mentioned in the policy and program that the development-centered good governance will be institutionalized as a national culture by increasing the trust of the citizens in the state.

What is the Singha Durbar task force doing?

The government is busy preparing the constitution amendment debate paper that has been prioritized in the policy and program. The task force led by Asim Shah has made preparations to take the constitution amendment debate paper to the citizen level.

Coordinator Asim Shah said that the government task force, which was given the responsibility of preparing the debate paper, has discussed it with political parties, constitutional experts and the public media. He will now take the debate paper to the citizen level for suggestions after discussing it in a few stages. Shah said that the task force is working with the aim of preparing a debate paper on the constitutional amendment within 100 days.

The task force includes representatives from 9 parties including Mohanlal Acharya from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bhishma Raj Adhikari from the CPN-UML, Dev Prasad Gurung from the Nepali Congress, Dhubra Raj Rai from the Shram Sanskriti Party, and Gyan Bahadur Shahi from the RPP. Similarly, Law Secretary Pushkar Sapkota from the Prime Minister's Office and Secretary of the Law Commission Indira Dahal are members.

Point number 4 of the '100-point agenda on governance reforms' made public by the government led by Prime Minister Shah on Chaitra 13 mentions the formation of a task force to prepare a debate paper for the constitutional amendment. The agenda mentioned that the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers would form the task force within 7 days to build a national consensus on issues including the country's long-term political and institutional reforms and the electoral system.

In addition, the goal was to make the debate process participatory, transparent and fact-based. According to the same plan, the Cabinet meeting on Chaitra 16 decided to form a task force under the coordination of the Prime Minister's political advisor Shah.

This task force, formed in accordance with the decision of the Cabinet on Chaitra 16, 2082, had taken forward this consultation process as per the decision of the meeting on Baisakh 10. After the government took forward the formal process of amending the constitution through the 'Constitutional Amendment Drafting Task Force-2082', political parties also formed task forces.

The Nepali Congress has formed a task force of constitutional experts under the leadership of senior advocate Pushpa Bhusal, while other parties are also discussing the party's manifesto and the constitution amendment within the party. The task force is preparing to prepare a concrete draft of the constitution amendment based on the suggestions collected from discussions with all stakeholders and submit it to the government.