While Nepal is set to mark ninth Constitution Day on September 19 (Ashoj 3), the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP), one of the coalition partners of the Nepali Congress-CPN-UML-led government, is marking it as Black Day to protest the constitution.

The party’s Sarvendra Nath Sukla said his party's activities for that day include wearing black armbands and holding discussions on constitutional amendments in every district with professionals from various fields.

Shukla said that his party has opposed the Constitution Day since the constitution since its promulgation on September 20, 2015.

“On the day of the promulgation of the constitution back in 2015, six Madhesis were killed and hundreds injured in government crackdowns,” Shukla told the Post. “As the demands of Madhesi and Tharu communities are still unmet, there is no meaning in celebrating the day as a victory day.”

Sukla also said that although the former Congress-Maoist Centre coalition government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal had agreed to amend the constitution in 2016, the bid failed.

When the bill to amend the constitution was tabled in the House, UML, then the second-largest party in Parliament (in 2016), obstructed it. The government then registered a seven-point amendment bill, which also failed during the voting process.

“Although 62 percent of lawmakers supported the amendment, it fell short of the required two-thirds majority,” Shukla said. “Since then, there has been no serious effort to address our demands for constitutional amendments.”

The LSP executive members' meeting on September 6 decided to collaborate with other parties advocating for constitutional amendments. The party also has formed a three-member committee under the leadership of Laxman Lal Karna to discuss possible cooperation with other parties to amend the constitution.

The Congress-UML coalition, which reached a seven-point agreement on July 1 and formed the KP Sharma Oli government on July 15, has included constitutional amendment as a major agenda.

However, LSP’s Laxman Lal Karna says the ruling parties have not prioritised this issue despite their agreement.

“We have taken the seven-point agreement positively, but the government has not addressed constitutional amendments since taking office,” Karna told the Post. “We should discuss what should be amended and what should remain unchanged.”

However, political analysts from Madhesh view the push for constitutional amendments by Madhes-based parties as a mere tactic to revive their political influence.

Analysts argue that the proposed amendments might have been resolved had the country’s federal structure been stronger. Although the country has been practising federalism since the 2017 elections, Madheshi parties are seen as undermining it rather than strengthening it, say political analysts.

“When it comes to Madhesh, we must separate the Madhesi parties, the Madhesi agenda, and the Madhesi people. To effectively address the Madheshi issues and constitutional amendments proposed by the parties, these three elements must align,” Chandra Kishor, a political analyst, told the Post.

Kishor believes that when the issues of Madhesi come up, the political parties claiming to represent the Madheshi remain divided.

While LSP is observing Constitutional Day as Black Day, the Madhesh Province government has announced plans to celebrate it by lighting oil lamps. The Janamat Party, which emerged as a new Madhesi political force through the November 2022 election, and is led by CK Raut, leads the Madhesh government with Congress and UML as coalition partners.

Chief Minister Satish Kumar Shah’s office confirmed the celebration plans. Meanwhile, the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal, led by Upendra Yadav, remains undecided on how to observe the Constitution Day.