Kathmandu, Sept. 14 (PTI): Nepal's Constituent Assembly today overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to revert to the country's earlier status as a Hindu state, saying the Hindu-majority nation would remain secular.
The declaration triggered violent protests in an already volatile situation over a planned federal structure.
In the 601-member Assembly, more than two-thirds of the lawmakers turned down the pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N)'s proposal to amend the Constitution and declare the country a Hindu nation again.
The lawmakers said the former Hindu kingdom, converted into a secular state in 2008 through a Parliament declaration, should remain secular.
RPP-N chief Kamal Thapa had registered the amendment proposal, which needed to be endorsed by a two-thirds majority.
After Assembly chairman Subas Chandra Nembang announced that the proposal had been rejected, Thapa demanded a split vote.
But his proposal for a vote received the support of only 21 lawmakers. Assembly rules require 61 people - or 10 per cent of the strength of the House - to undertake the process.
Earlier, in July, a drive to gauge what the public wanted had revealed that most people preferred the word "Hindu" or "religious freedom" to the term "secularism".
Today, after the Assembly rejected the amendment proposal, the RPP-N and some religious organisations staged demonstrations outside the parliament and demanded that Nepal be declared a Hindu state again.
Around 2,500 pro-Hindu activists carrying yellow and saffron flags marched on streets chanting slogans and clashed with police. The protesters attacked passing vehicles, including one belonging to the UN, forcing the police to use batons and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
Nepal had yesterday entered the final phase of promulgating its new Constitution with its three major parties going ahead with clause-wise voting on the final draft of the statute despite a boycott by Madhesi parties and protests that have claimed nearly 40 lives. The Madhesi parties are protesting against the seven-province model of the federal structure proposed by the major parties.
