Constitution amendment bill would not be endorsed in Parl: Oli

Kathmandu: Nepal's Opposition leader and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday refused to let the the Constitution amendment bill, aimed at addressing the demands of agitating Madhesi parties, pass in the Parliament.

Talking to journalists at Biratnagar Airport in eastern Nepal, CPN-UML Chairman Oli accused the government that by tabling the Constitution amendment bill in Parliament it had ignored the Supreme Court order which had noted that state boundaries cannot be reviewed without an approval from the Provincial Assemblies.

Oli said that the incumbent government was acting as if it did not understand court language.

He accused the Madhesi party leaders of speaking illegal and unconstitutional words and criticised them for making statements like they would not participate in the elections if the Constitution amendment bill is not passed.

Oli exuded confidence that the country would find a solution to the problem in coming few days in line with the parliamentary procedures.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" has claimed that the Constitution amendment bill was tabled in the Parliament with the consent of the main opposition CPN (UML).

The bill, which aims to accommodate the demands of the agitating Madhesi and ethnic groups that include citizenship and boundary demarcation issues among others, was tabled in the Parliament yesterday.

Talking to reporters in central Nepal's Chitawan district, Prachanda said that the bill was forwarded after forging a consensus with UML chairman Oli.

He claimed that the Opposition was ready to forward the bill in an 'agree to disagree' modality, adding that it was an internationally practised modality and dismissed the notion that the bill was tabled forcibly.

The Prime Minister stressed on consensus among the political parties and said that serious discussions were held with Oli regarding this.

Re-demarcation of the provincial boundary and citizenship issue are the two major demands put forth by the Madhesis. Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a six-month-long agitation during Oli's premiership, from September 2015 to February last year, in which more than 50 people were killed.

The agitation had also crippled the landlocked country's economy as supplies from India were blocked.