Nepal PM says political parties in the journey of consensus

Kathmandu, May 29 (ANI): Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Saturday said the step taken by the political parties to extend the Constituent Assembly (CA) term was a historic one and that the parties have been successful to stand in unity to accomplish the desire of the people for lasting peace and new Constitution.

Speaking at the second Republic Day celebration at the Army Pavilion in Tundikhel, Prime Minister Nepal said, "In a democratic country like Nepal, politics should be done on the basis of policy and guidelines rather than terror and threatening."

Kantipur quoted him as, saying that the new statute could not be promulgated by the May 28 deadline due to the lack of consensus between the political parties.

He said the extended period for the Constitution drafting should be utilised at its best by learning from the past mistakes.

He also stressed on the political stability, which he said, could be achieved only through the Constitution drafting by ending the transitional political situation.

Nepal's Parliament had passed the eight Amendment Bill of the Interim Constitution of Nepal, which will extend the Constituent Assembly's (CA) term by a year.

Out of the 585 lawmakers who attended the meeting, 580 voted for the Amendment Bill, while five voted against.

Announcing the result, Speaker Subash Nemwang said the amendment bill was passed by a two-thirds majority.

Nemwang also said that the next session of House will began on Monday afternoon.

The government Bill was passed after a marathon meeting that started at 11:40 p.m. in parliament.

Voting started after the pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) opposed the bill, with Chandra Bahadur Gurung asking lawmakers to vote against it.

Earlier the big three parties had agreed to a three point agreement, which includes, a provision for extending the term of the CA by a year, implementation of past agreements and the resignation of the Prime Minister within days to pave the way for a unity government.

Last week's Nepal's ruling coalition introduced a bill in the 601 member-Assembly to extend the term of the House by a year so that it can finish the task of framing a new Constitution. (ANI)