South Asian News Network

Patan (Lalitpur), April 19: The Nepali Congress (NC) has finalized the expert committee it had earlier formed to study issues related to constitutional amendments and submit submissions. The committee, formed on March 25, is coordinated by party Vice-President Pushpa Bhusal. Issuing a press statement today, senior advocates Radheshyam Adhikari, Harihar Dahal, Prem Bahadur Khadka, Upendra Keshari Neupane, Sher Bahadur KC, Yadunath Khanal, Gopal Krishna Ghimire, Yogendra Bahadur Adhikari, Dr Dinesh Tripathi, Sitaram KC, and Lalit Kumar Basnet, and advocates Ran Bahadur Thewe, Sharmila Shrestha and Jhalamaya BK, have been appointed as committee members. Advocate Raju Katuwal has been assigned the role of member-secretary. The committee has been entrusted with five key responsibilities, including assessing issues and concerns raised by various communities and groups during the constitution-drafting process, identifying challenges that have emerged after its implementation, examining the practice of federalism, evaluating the functioning of the three-tier governance system, and reviewing dialogues held with relevant stakeholders. Similarly, the committee has been tasked with reviewing the implementation of the constitution in terms of good governance, service delivery and youth representation in line with the spirit of the September movement, as well as considering the party’s commitments to constitutional amendments it made in its election manifesto. Based on the committee’s recommendations, the party will determine its agenda for constitutional amendments and engage with other political parties, civil society and experts to build a national consensus. The NC has welcomed the government’s priority on dialogue regarding constitutional amendments and expressed its commitment to cooperating with the government in this regard. Describing the existing constitution promulgated by the historic Constituent Assembly in 2015 as a significant achievement, the party said that its protection and effective implementation remain key responsibilities. The party views that constitution has completed a decade since its promulgation and updates on it are part of a democratic process. The party aims to address issues seen in the implementation of the constitution and further strengthen federalism, inclusion and civic rights in accordance with the commitments it made during the recent House of Representatives (HoR) elections in 2026. —–