As promulgation of Constitution nears a decade, people's representatives rue lax implementation of fundamental rights

Kathmandu, Aug 6 :  People's representatives have begun complaining that the implementation of constitution-enshrined fundamental rights had not proceeded despite the passage of eight years since the promulgation of the constitution.     

The constitution of Nepal, promulgated on September 20, 2015, guarantees 31 fundamental rights to the citizens.     

At a programme organized by the Talk Centre here today, Province Assembly members close to Nepali Congress (NC) drew the attention of government towards the fact that citizens were in despair when the implementation of contents in the constitution was not making headway despite such long time.     

Bagmati Province's Province Assembly Chief Whip Kundan Raj Kafle complained that the provision of free education enshrined by the constitution was not implemented yet. He drew the attention of the leadership towards the situation where, according to him, the citizens were revolting due to little or no implementation of the issues guaranteed in the constitution.     

Kafle expressed his objection over the federal education bill introduced by the incumbent government recently. According to him, the private healthcare centres were fleecing citizens and the government had failed to monitor and take legal action against them.     

Fundamental rights such as right to clean drinking water and sanitation, health, and housing were still far from implementation, he ranted.     

Koshi Province's Province Assembly member Bhupendra Rai viewed that although the constitution had written a lot about citizens rights, it had not been implemented. Rai asserted that the constitutional bodies were becoming the recruitment centres for party cadres lately and opined that the constitutional bodies failed to raise the issues and bring them to conclusion.     

Since the matters of constitutional bodies could be reviewed every 10 years, he said it was high time to do homework in this regard.     

Gandaki Province Assembly member Jit Bahadur Sherchan called for ending corruption and irregularities so as to increase the State coffers, noting that resources would be needed for implementation for the constitution. According to him, the people's representatives should walk the talk rather than giving big talk and delivering dismally.     

Former minister Bhimsen Das Pradhan stressed that three-tier government should introduce laws to fully enforce federalism.     

On the occasion, NC leader Krishna Prasad Situala, also coordinator of Constitution Drafting Committee, was declared the chief audience in that programme that was organized in a new style departing from the convention ways of conducting political programmes.     

Umakanta Chaudhary, NC Assistant General-Secretary, was also declared one of the audiences of the event where nobody was seated in the dais as special guests unlike in the previous political programmes.     

Towards the end of the programmes, the host read out -'The people's representatives should work for the people rather than themselves'. (RSS)