The proceedings of Nepal's Constituent Assembly were briefly obstructed today by the lawmakers of pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party over the contentious issue of 'right to abandon one's religion'.
RPP Nepal, the only pro-Hindu and pro-Monarch party in the Constituent Assembly (CA), alleged that the right to abandon one's religion was enlisted as a fundamental right to appease foreign powers and it was tantamount to conversion - a provision absent from the preliminary constitutional draft agreed to earlier.
Lawmakers of RPP Nepal shouted slogans in the CA over the issue and demanded clarifications from the house.
The Constitution Drafting Committee Chairman Sitaula later clarified that no change has been made regarding the right to religious freedom including the right to abstain from religion.
RPP Nepal members ended their protests after assurance from the house that the 'right to abstain from a religion' can not be interpreted as freedom to change religion.
The Constituent Assembly members have started discussions on the first draft of the constitution, which was tabled by Nepali Congress general secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula on Tuesday after an agreement was reached among the four major political parties on key issues of the proposed constitution.
The draft constitution will be published in the Nepal gazette to receive people's feedback on key issues.
