The Constituent Assembly is to continue debate on the report of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) Friday as well with some CA members still waiting for their turn to speak on it.

The CA, which started debate on the SRC report on Monday, was to conclude the debate today. Majority of the CA members who spoke during today's session asked the top leaders of the major three parties to start serious preparations immediately so as to conclude the constitution-drafting by May 27.

They admitted that after Wednesday's ruling of the Supreme Court there is no other option than to issue the constitution within the deadline.

Meanwhile, the CA members have criticised the SRC report, which proposes 11-state federal model based on the ethnicity, linguistic identity and geography.

Jiban Prem Shrestha of Nepali Congress said all the parties had already accepted capability and identity for state restructuring and the report of the minority members of the SRC would be a strong base for dispute resolution regarding the federalism, rather than the 11-state model finalised by the SRC through majority.

Likewise, UCPN (Maoist) CA member Hisila Yami said federal states should be made based on ethnic and regional lines and capacity and identity should be taken into consideration while doing so. Another Maoist lawmaker Lokendra Bista said some of the recommendations of the SRC could be considered but the report as a whole had only complicated the matters.

Likewise, UML lawmaker Bishnu Paudel said the SRC only created problems instead of resolving the thorny issues and that identity and capability were the main basis for state restructuring.  Also speaking in the meeting, lawmaker of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik Om Prakash Yadav said ethnicity-based federalism was not acceptable and Madhes was not a region of a single ethnic community. He said provinces should be made by incorporating all castes and cultures.

Likewise, Ramsah Prasad Yadav of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Nepal, said constitution without federalism was unacceptable.
nepalnews.com