Kathmandu: Thousands of Nepalese youths
have launched a Facebook campaign to pressurise political
parties to draft a new constitution by the May 28 deadline.
The campaign - We Nepalese united for change - called
for stopping paying the politicians if they failed to draft
the constitution by the deadline.
After the end of decade-long conflict between Maoist
rebels and the state, Nepal elected a 601-member Constituent
Assembly with a two-year mandate to draft a new constitution.
However, despite a 12-month extension agreed last year
the lawmakers have failed to come out with the constitution.
Recently, youths, students, beauty queens and civil
society members have gathered in numbers in front of the
assembly building in Kathmandu to voice their concern.
"You have taken the wages and now its turn to give the
constitution," reads one of the banners at the protest.
The youths have also asked the CA members either to
ready the constitution by May 28 or to sacrifice their pays
and perks and get only six months extension of the term for
writing the constitution.
The coalition government has asked one more year of
extension as it has admitted that constitution cannot be
promulgated on May 28, the deadline set last year.
"We are an informal group of concerned Nepali citizens
came together to raise our voice against the apathy and
indifference shown by the political parties," reads a slogan
written on the Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Nepali Congress, the main opposition party,
and other Madhesi parties have urged the ruling alliance to
decide a clear road map of army integration and settle key
issues relating to the constitution before they could endorse
the government`s plan to extend the term of the Constituent
Assembly beyond May 28.
PTI
