Nepali Times
Constitution Supplement
"I am not in favour of an ethnic state"



KIRAN PANDAY
You seem more occupied with the party's mahasamiti meeting than the constitution?

I haven't missed a single CA meeting. The committee to protect national interests, of which I am a member, has already submitted its draft and the Assembly has already discussed it. I am focusing on the mahasamiti meeting because the CA is not in session right now. I am the party's district chairperson, and since the meeting is in Kathmandu, I have some obligations to the party.

A while back some CA members pledged to establish a Newar state in Kathmandu. You were absent from the meeting?
I got the invitation at the very last minute. I didn't have much information on the meeting either, so I didn't attend.

There has been vigorous debate about establishing ethnic federal states in the CA, hasn't there?
I believe in democracy, so I don't care about caste and religion. My faith is in democracy, not in ethnicity.That's why I am not in favour of an ethnic state.

Is that stalling the constitution-writing process?
Constitution writing hasn't gained momentum because of the the refusal by some parties to accept a majority government and the obstruction of parliament.

Can the constitution be written within seven months?
There is no way it can't be written. Some people used to say we wouldn't have the CA elections. But we addressed the Madhes uprising and held the elections. The same people also said we couldn't overthrow the king and establish a republic state. We will have the constitution written just as people talk about how impossible it is. If we can mitigate the differences between various parties, we can definitely write the constitution on time.

READ ALSO:
Constitution 2010, Nepali Times coverage of issues related to writing the new constitution
Ethinicty-based federalism?- FROM ISSUE #341 (23 MARCH 2007 - 29 MARCH 2007)



LATEST ISSUE
638
(11 JAN 2013 - 17 JAN 2013)


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