By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Ignoring growing public discontent and a stricture by the Supreme Court, Nepal’s caretaker government Tuesday moved to give itself additional time to draft a new constitution after it became evident the warring parties would fail a third deadline Aug 31.
Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari and other ministers of the caretaker government registered a proposal at the parliament secretariat Tuesday seeking to amend the interim constitution and extend the Aug 31 deadline by three months more.
The tacit admission that the embattled government would fail to unveil even a draft of the much-awaited people’s constitution comes amidst a series of deepening crises that have plunged the republic into political turbulence and breakdown in law and order.
The major parties, whose protracted squabble for power caused the country to come to a deadlock after it saw a ray of hope with the end of the Maoist insurgency in 2006, are also doomed for another failure Wednesday when they are expected to name a new prime minister on the basis of consensus.
Though the rivals failed to name a new premier by Sunday, the deadline set by President Ram Baran Yadav, and sought three days more, continued dissent Tuesday indicated they would fail the Wednesday deadline as well.
With both the Maoists and the Nepali Congress, the two largest parties in parliament, sticking to their demand that they should head the new government, Nepal’s chances of a national unity government has disappeared.
The president is now likely to call for a vote in parliament for the lawmakers to elect a majority government even though history showed the last two majority governments had collapsed in quick succession.
If the parties fail to come up with a consensus government, they are also likely to fail to draft the new constitution by November.
The caretaker government’s move to give it more time comes even as the issue is sub judice with the Supreme Court currently hearing a petition to decide if the government has the power to extend the constitutional deadline endlessly.
The statute, for the first time written by the people’s representatives, was to have been promulgated in May 2010.
However, the parties, caught up in their power battles, failed to meet the deadline as well as two more extensions in May 2010 and May 2011.
(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at [email protected])