After the government failed to speed up the constitution amendment process, the main ruling party, Nepali Congress, has decided to form a task force to look into the matter.

The two major parties in Nepal’s House of Representatives, Nepali Congress and UML, had agreed to expedite the constitution amendment process when they came together to form the coalition government a year ago.

“The Nepali Congress affirms clearly and with full commitment that it bears the primary responsibility for protecting and implementing the constitution of the federal democratic republic of Nepal, which was established under the leadership of the Nepali Congress,” read a statement the party issued upon the conclusion of its central working committee meeting on Monday night.

“Acknowledging the challenges and complexities observed over the past decade of the constitution’s implementation, the Nepali Congress believes that timely amendments are necessary for its dynamic enforcement.”

In line with this belief, the Nepali Congress recalls the 7-point agreement reached with the CPN (UML), which emphasised the importance of reviewing the strengths, weaknesses, and complexities encountered during the practice of the constitution since its promulgation, and prioritising the necessary constitutional amendments and corresponding legislation for political stability, the statement said. “Therefore, the Nepali Congress has decided to form a task force to bring the issue of constitutional amendment to a meaningful conclusion.”

The party added that the task force will initiate discussions within the party on matters related to constitutional amendment and engage in dialogue with political parties that collaborated during constitution drafting, other political parties, experts and specialists who contributed to constitution-making, as well as relevant civil society stakeholders.

Dozens of Nepali Congress leaders spoke in the meeting that continued for six days and raised various issues related to the government, Parliament, contemporary politics, internal organisational matters of the party, upcoming 15th general convention, and matters related to distribution of the active membership, among others.

The meeting also drew the attention of the government and asked for a more effective way to meet the people’s expectations and aspirations.

“While remaining committed to the seven-point agreement between the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML regarding government formation, this meeting draws the serious attention of the government toward the need to work more effectively for development, good governance, and prosperity, in line with the will of the people, to ensure political stability,” said the statement.

The party also asked the government to address some of the issues faced by the agriculture sector by supplying adequate amount of essential chemical fertilisers; resolve existing problems in the industry, commerce, and supply sectors; and to improve the legal and procedural barriers and tax policies that hinder the creation of an investment-friendly environment, domestic production, and employment opportunities, as well as the balance in national and international trade.

Further, the party also drew the government’s attention to disaster preparedness and response, improving education sector, ongoing doctor’s protest, drought in Tarai-Madhesh area, issue of sugarcane farmers, and issues related to cooperative fraud and protection of depositors, among others.

The party also expressed serious concern that some local units have still not presented their budgets due to shortcomings in political understanding and functioning. The meeting stated that passing five significant laws through Parliament, including the Citizenship Act and the Anti-Corruption Act, which are important milestones toward improving governance, was a positive step but delay in enacting other necessary laws required for the full implementation of the constitution has created uncertainty across all three levels of government.

Regarding the Civil Service Bill, which was recently approved unanimously by the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee and presented to the House of Representatives, the party said it believes that the irregularities and weaknesses found in the committee’s report must be addressed through the parliamentary process to preserve the dignity and credibility of Parliament.

Similarly, in light of ongoing activities and misunderstandings related to the functioning and budget formulation in the provincial governments, representatives from the Central Working Committee will be assigned to hold discussions and facilitate coordination with the party’s Provincial Committees and Parliamentary Parties in all seven provinces, the party said.

These representatives are required to submit a report to the Central Working Committee within one month, the statement added.

The party also made its position public on various other issues like school education bill and teacher’s movement, support for professional mountaineers and labourers in the Himalayan region and issues related to the party’s organisation and thematic issues like membership renewal and general conventions of sister organisations, among others.