Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said the task of writing the new Constitution was moving ahead and the statute would be ready by the expected date. The parties have set themselves January 22, 2015 as the deadline for promulgating the Constitution.
Mr. Koirala was speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the international airport here, on his return after month-long treatment for lung cancer at a New York hospital.
“I have fully recovered,” Mr. Koirala said. “All work will be speeded up.”
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Mr. Koirala’s coalition partner and Chairman of the CPN-UML, K.P. Oli, has left for Singapore for treatment of a “fungal” infection.
Meanwhile, the nomination of 26 members to the 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA) is still to be made, though eight months have passed since the CA election. Following a writ petition, the Supreme Court on May 12, set a deadline of two weeks. The Bench of the apex court ordered the government to name the 26 members on the basis of distinguished contribution and accomplishment as mandated by the Interim Constitution. The government appealed against the ruling and the matter rests there.
The Prime Minister said the nomination process would be completed soon.
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The government has also not named ambassadors to 16 countries, including India. Chiefs and members of important constitutional bodies like the National Human Rights Commission, Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (similar to the Central Vigilance Commission in India), and the Public Service Commission.