By PTI

KATHMANDU: A proposal to declare Nepal a Hindu state was overwhelmingly rejected by the constituent assembly on Monday which reaffirmed that the Hindu-majority nation will remain secular.

The proposal made by pro-Hindu National Democratic Party Nepal to amend the constitution to make Nepal a Hindu state was rejected by more than two-thirds of lawmakers who declared that the country should remain secular as the constituent assembly resumed voting on individual articles of the draft constitution.

After assembly chairman Subas Chandra Nembang announced that the proposal has been rejected, Kamal Thapa, leader of the National Democratic Party Nepal, demanded split voting.

Thapa’s proposal for a vote received the support of only 21 lawmakers in the 601-seat constituent assembly. As the CA rules requires 61 members to begin the split voting, the voting was not done.

The erstwhile Hindu state, Nepal was declared a secular state in 2007 after the success of the people’s movement of 2006 that saw the abolition of monarchy.

Courtesy: THE TIMES OF INDIA
Read more » http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Nepal-to-stay-secular-proposal-for-a-Hindu-nation-rejected/articleshow/48959256.cms