Nepal's ruling coalition partner wants Parliament to reinstate country as Hindu State

Nepal's pro-Hindu party, part of the ruling coalition, on Sunday said it will table an amendment motion in the Parliament to reinstate Nepal as a Hindu nation, warning of massive street protests if the demand is not met. 

Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N), the fourth largest party in the Parliament, took the decision during the central committee meeting of the party chaired by RPP-N chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa that concluded in Birgunj in southern Nepal on Sunday. Party sources said RPP-N decided to move a motion against the provision of secular State in the Constitution and seek returning to a Hindu nation.

The party has been campaigning for reinstatement of a Hindu State since the country was converted into a secular nation through Parliament declaration in 2008, when monarchy was abolished from the country following the success of the People's Movement. "The party has also decided to launch street agitation for the same purpose, if the constitution amendment process could not reconvert the country into a Hindu State," the proposal endorsed by the party's CWC meeting said.

Last year, the Constituent Assembly had overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by pro-Hindu RPP-N to revert Nepal as a Hindu State, declaring that the Hindu-majority nation will remain secular. 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. The rejection had triggered violent protests amid an already volatile situation over federal structure.

On Sunday, the RPP-N also asked the government to resolve the issues relating to the agitation launched by the Madhesis through political means of holding dialogue with the agitating parties.