Nepali Congress MP Pramesh Hamal accused the government, formed with an oath to fully uphold the Constitution, of attacking the very foundations of the Constitution during a session of the House of Representatives.
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Pramesh Kumar Hamal, a Member of Parliament from the opposition party CPN, has clarified that his party had to withdraw from the task force formed by the government to prepare a discussion paper on constitutional amendment because questions were being raised about the very spirit of the constitution.
Speaking during a special time in the House of Representatives meeting on Thursday, he accused the current government, which was formed with an oath to fully uphold the constitution, of attacking the very foundations of the constitution. He also stated that his party could not participate in the debate on constitutional amendment if it involved questioning fundamental issues such as democracy, republicanism, federalism, and secularism.
“This is a government that was formed by pledging and taking an oath to uphold the constitution. No fundamental issue of the constitution can be questioned. Democracy, republicanism, federalism, secularism, inclusive participation, and the many fundamental rights we have enshrined—not only that, but it is also written in the constitution that our country, our nation’s economy, will be oriented towards socialism. Can we prepare a draft amendment that raises questions on these issues?” he said. “What is the process? Can the process of constitutional amendment move forward without national consensus? Therefore, I respectfully request that my party withdraw from the task force that was formed to draft that document on constitutional amendment.”
He stated that the process itself was opaque and flawed, and that they would not be involved in any process that sought to question the spirit of the constitution. MP Hamal also expressed the view that constitutional amendment could only move forward on the basis of national consensus.
Four parties have withdrawn from the task force formed by the government to prepare a discussion paper on constitutional amendment. Representatives from CPN, LOSPA, JSP, and Rastriya Janamorcha withdrew from the task force, raising questions about its jurisdiction. The representatives designated by UML have not attended the task force meetings from the beginning. Congress had not sent any representatives.
The task force, led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s political advisor Asim Shah, included Dev Gurung from CPN, Laxmanlal Karna from LOSPA, Surendra Jha from JSP, and Manoj Bhatt from Janamorcha as members. As they withdrew from the task force, they submitted a six-point letter of dissent to coordinator Asim Shah on Monday.
