Nepal has plunged into another political crisis following the adoption of a new constitution. President Ram Baran Yadav signed the constitution on September 20, after 508 members of the 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA) approved it five days earlier.
Members of the ruling Nepal Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-UML (CPN-UML) coalition, as well as of the opposition Unified Nepal Communist Party-Maoist (UNCP-M), voted for the constitution, but 25 members of royalist parties opposed it and 66 ethnic Madhesi representatives abstained.
Madhesi parties are demanding greater autonomy for Madhesi and Tharu people in the southern plains bordering India and increased representation in the parliament. Protests called by the ethnic Madhesi Democratic Front (MDF) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (MJF-L) have claimed more than 40 lives so far.
Compounding the crisis, India has advised the Kathmandu government to Madhesi demands. New Delhi has not imposed any blockade as alleged by Nepali media and political leaders but supplies including fuel are not reaching Nepal as large number of vehicles are stranded near the border due to the protests.
The protests have also resulted in a rift within the UNCP-M. Former Maoist Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai quit the party and Parliament on September 26, expressing sympathy for Madhesis. Though he voted for the constitution, he said Madhesis were “denied a say” in formulating it. Bhattarai is seeking to form a new party to exploit the crisis, under conditions in which the credibility of the established parties, including the Maoists, has sharply eroded.
The Constituent Assembly was established in 2008, two years after the Maoists abandoned their guerrilla war and joined the mainstream parties to bring curtains down on the King Gyanendra’s autocratic rule. The monarchy was abolished and an interim government installed.
Under the new constitution, Nepal has been named a “democratic republic,” with seven provinces and a federal parliament. The prime minister will exercise executive powers, with the president playing a largely ceremonial role. The constitution seeks to refashion the state in order to overcome protracted political instability and attract foreign investment.
The new Constitution makes religious conversion a punishable offence; it denies citizenship rights to the children of women who marry foreigners. Both provisions have come in for severe criticism.
Apart from calling for two autonomous states, the Madhesi parties’ demand provision of 83 seats in the 165-member parliament, and reservation of posts for Madhesi and Tharu officials in the administrative, security, judiciary and diplomatic services. They are also calling for an independent commission to inquire into killings and punishments carried out by the security forces.
In the run up to the adoption of the new statute, New Delhi was in touch with the Nepali leadership advising them to hammer out a consensus based document that is acceptable to all sections of the society, the Madhesis including.
On September 19, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar as his special envoy to meet Nepal’s leaders, including President Yadav and Prime Minister Koirala.
According to media reports, India proposed seven amendments to the constitution, including a clause providing Madhesis with parliamentary seats proportional to their population. The Indian foreign ministry denied suggesting such amendments. “We had repeatedly cautioned the political leadership of Nepal to take urgent steps to defuse the tension in these regions,” it stated on September 22.
Nepal’s Industry Minister Mahesh Basnet has accused India of “an unofficial economic blockade.” India has denied any obstruction, saying the halting of goods at border crossings was due to unrest, protests and demonstrations on the Nepalese side.
Nepalese people are increasingly facing a scarcity of essential goods, including fuel and cooking gas. To divert the mounting popular discontent, the government and media have responded with anti-Indian propaganda, encouraging counter-protests and violence. Nepal’s broadcast operators have blacked out access to 42 Indian TV channels.