Nepal votes to stay secular, won’t revert to Hindu nation

Over two-thirds of legislators in the 601-member Constituent Assembly turned down proposal

A proposal to revert Nepal to a Hindu state was on Monday overwhelmingly rejected by the Constituent Assembly which declared that the Hindu-majority nation will remain secular, triggering violent protests amid an already volatile situation over federal structure.

More than two-thirds of legislators in the 601-member Constituent Ass-embly turned down the proposal by pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal to amend the Constitution to restore Nepal as a Hindu state. The legislators declared that the country should remain secular as the Constituent Assembly resumed voting on articles of the draft Constitution clause by clause.

RPP-N chairman Kamal Thapa had registered the amendment proposal demanding to reinstate Nepal as a Hindu state in Article 4 of the revised bill of the new Constitution. However, the proposal on restoring Nepal as a Hindu state was rejected as it did not secure the required 10 per cent of votes, according to party sources. A two-thirds majority was required to endorse the proposal.