The Lotus Party Venue in Koteshwor was brimmed to its capacity by people who had come to give feedback on the first draft constitution on Monday. The lawmakers of the Kathmandu constituency no 2 were there to answer to the queries and to note down the suggestions put forward by the people.
While a considerable number of people showed up at the venue to share their opinions on the constitution draft before lawmakers duo Bidhya Bhandari and Deepakraj Kuikel, there were also many people who choose not to participate, even those who were present at the event.
“It is just a sham,” said Santosh Maharjan, an onlooker who was at the venue. He said the event was nothing but a waste of government fund.
“How would they present all the feedback from all over the Nepal by July 23 in Parliament. This is cheating gullible people like us. We won’t be fooled by the government,” Maharjan said.
Like Maharjan, many left the hall mid-way through the programme, complaining that their voices were not going to be heard amid the crowd of party cadres. They claimed that a large majority of the people at the venue who were speaking about the constitution draft were the cadres of various political parties.
“The leaders took seven years to give this draft, but they haven’t included any new things in it, other than terming Nepal a ‘republic and secular nation’. Those who were involved in giving feedback to the lawmakers were the agents of the political parties,” said Damoder Subedi. “If only these things were to be included in the upcoming constitution, why all this drama for all these years?”
Mitra Sapkota, a teacher and a lawyer by profession also did not attend the programme. He said received the constitution draft on Monday morning and there was no way he could read it cover to cover within a few hours and give his feedback to the lawmakers in the afternoon. “How could one read 128 pages of the draft and understand all in a matter of few hours? Giving feedback without knowing the issues would be worthless. This is why I didn’t participate in the programme,” said Sapkota.
He added that even the language used in the draft was hard to understand by common people.
Dipesh Rimal, a recent UAE returnee was having tea with his friends at a local tea shop close to the venue. He too had a cynical view regarding the politics of the country and the leaders.
“If only our leaders had made a conductive environment here, I wouldn’t have gone to a Gulf country as a migrant labourer. Many youths like me wouldn’t be unemployed. Going there and giving our feedback is just a waste of time,” Rimal said.
Anup Ojha was a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues, crime, and human interest stories since 2011. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years.
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