Nepal home minister announces amendment of Constitution after political consensus

Nepal's Home Affairs Minister, Ramesh Lekhak, stated on December 15 that the Constitution will be amended once a consensus is reached among all political parties.

Speaking at a press meeting, Lekhak stressed the need for the Constitution amendment for strengthening the federal democratic republic, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported.

"The preliminary dialogue on this issue has commenced. But the constitution amendment will not be determined by two political parties,” he said.

Lekhak said that the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN UML), the largest parties in Parliament, had decided to form the incumbent coalition government to promote stability, prevent corruption, strengthen good governance and economic activities and accelerate the pace of development.

The minister further said that the existing political alliance between the NC and CPN (UML) has no issues and it will continue until the next general election.

Responding to a question about the arrest of opposition leader Rabi Lamichhane, he claimed that the government is highly aware of the guarantee of human rights for each citizen.

He added that the government has no feeling of “revenge” against Lamichhane, the chair of Rastriya Swatantra Party, as the current investigation against him is a legal issue.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat advised the government to seek and accept foreign loans only on the need-basis as it has been very challenging for the country to repay loans taken after Covid-19.

In July, K P Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal’s Prime Minister for the fourth time to lead a new coalition government.

The leader of Nepal’s largest communist party was appointed as prime minister by President Ram Chandra Paudel to lead the coalition government with Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in Parliament, apart from other smaller parties.

Oli, 72, succeeded Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda,’ who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives (HoR), leading to the formation of the new government.

Nepal has faced frequent political turmoil as the country has seen 14 governments in the past 16 years after the Republican system was introduced. (With PTI inputs)