VP Jha accuses parties of dilly-dallying over statute writing; dubs special committee as unconstitutional
Vice President Parmananda Jha, who has repeatedly expressed displeasure for not being given any role, today went on to criticise the political parties for delaying the constitution writing process.
Emphasising that new constitution should be drafted within the stipulated time, Jha said the parties have not focused their attention to this direction. He said he would "speak up" if the constitution-making process got further delayed.
He was speaking at a special interaction programme organised by the Reporters Club in the capital Wednesday.
Though he declined comment on the issue of army integration, the Vice President expressed his discontent over the structure of the special committee for army integration, describing the panel as 'unconstitutional'.
"What do they mean by major parties?" he questioned, referring to what has been described as representation of "major parties" in the special committee. "There is no constitutional definition of major parties."
Since the interim constitution does not define "major parties", involvement of certain parties in the committee does not bear constitutionality, Jha maintained, adding that only the Constitution Assembly and the Supreme Court could give such a definition.
The special panel headed by Home Minister and UML leader Bam Dev Gautam has two members from CPN (Maoist) and one each from Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) and the main opposition Nepali Congress party, which is yet to join it. Jha was elected Vice President on a MJF ticket.
Jha also took the opportunity to repeat his discontent over lack of clear role for him. "People have expectations from the President and Vice President, so their roles should be well defined. That's what is missing in the constitution." nepalnews.com mk Nov 05 08
