Kathmandu, July 27 (PTI): Eight years after turning Nepal into a secular nation, the country's parties are planning to replace "secularism" from the new Constitution with an appropriate word.

Nepali Congress general secretary and deputy Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh today said the idea was floated during a discussion among top party leaders.

Nepal was declared a secular state in 2007 after the success of the People's Movement of 2006.

The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) was the main force behind declaring Nepal a secular nation. However, now the party has changed its stance with the majority in favour of a return to a Hindu state during the two-day debate over the preliminary draft of the Constitution.

The CPN-UML chief, Prachanda, today said that the term "secularism" is not an appropriate one and it would be replaced with a suitable one in the new Constitution.

Talking to reporters at his residence, Prachanda said it had hurt the sentiments of the general public.

"We found during the feedback collection process that the people of Nepal were deeply displeased and hurt with the usage of the term 'secularism'. Therefore, when the new Constitution is promulgated, the term will be replaced by another suitable one," he said.

During the collection last week, the majority preferred "Hindu" or "religious freedom" instead of "secularism".

In an editorial, the Ekantipur Online said: "Over the past few days, a campaign to remove the word 'secularism' from the Constitution has been gaining momentum.

"Many politicians from the CPN-UML and Nepali Congress had always been opposed to the declaration of Nepal as a secular state and were secretly in favour of defining Nepal as a Hindu state.

"These politicians have now been emboldened by the suggestion of some members of the civil society to remove secularism as a constitutional principle," the editorial said.