There is news that Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala’s health has improved since he was admitted to Sahid Gangalal Heart Centre on Sunday evening. Nepalnews reports:
Koirala has started speaking and the amount of haemoglobin in his blood has increased. He was administered some blood last night as the blood level in his body had gone way below normal.
The High Level Political Mechanism, of which Koirala is the coordinator, held its final meeting of the second round of talks on Monday, but ended without a consensus. The Himalayan Times reports:
UCPN-M, CPN-UML and NC leaders failed to garner consensus after they stuck to their own individual agenda regarding the finalisation of the CA committee draft.
According to the UCPN-M leader, Dev Gurung the meeting could not resolve the differences after the UML and NC leaders ruled out the Maoist proposal for finalising the draft of the nine committees of the CA through voting.
President Ram Baran Yadav is reported to be concerned about the hiccups in writing the constitution and summoned CA Chairman Subash Nembang to update him on the progress.
“President Yadav wanted to know what options were available if the constitution is not written on time,” Kantipur writes. “But Nembang didn’t want to get into that saying ‘the only uncontroversial alternative is to write it on time.’”
While the President inquires about the the progress on the constitution, Vice President Parmananda Jha has injected a new issue into the debate. The Himalayan Times reports:
Go back to previous pageVice-president Parmananda Jha today said that Nepal could be restored as a Hindu state in the new statute if majority of Nepalese demanded and desired so.
Talking to media persons in Dhangadi after his arrival from Haridwar, India, Jha said that he too aspired for the revival of Hindu state as he was an ardent follower of Hinduism.
Reverting back from a secular state to a solely Hindu state is a dangerous idea and it will not happen. In a secular Nepal, Jha has the right to practice his religion as he prefers. In Jefferson’s words, he is not”compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor [is he] enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor [is he] otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief”. He is “free to profess, and by argument to maintain, [his]opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect [his ]civil capacities. He then has the natural right to follow his religious beleifs as do others that profess non-Hindu religious beleifs.
Nepal as a Hindu state will give the impression that Hinduism enlarges civil capacities of citizens while non-Hindu religions don’t. That in itself an affront against the natural right of non-Hindus to practise their faith. The only possible manner in which the new constitution will protect both its majority and minorities in matters of religion is by keeping the state’s secular identity.