NGO Federation of Nepal organized two separate rallies in Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar on 6th September 2009 to create people’s pressure on the political parties and other stakeholders for the cause of constitution making. Coordinated by the respective regional committees of NFN, the programmes were jointly organized by FECOFUN, Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, Federation of Nepalese Journalists, Dalit NGO Federation of Nepal and other more than 20 local civil society organizations.

In Nepalgunj, the rally began from B. P. Chowk and assembled in Dhambojhi Chowk as a mass meeting. About 400 participants from civil society organizations and the public took part carrying placards with various demands and slogans. The placards read: Put an end to impunity, maintain peace and security, promulgate the constitution in time, etc. Addressing the programme, Dr Arjun Karki, immediate past president of NFN, urged all the people to get united at this time of political crisis to jolt the centre from the local level. He expected the programme to create pressure for drafting the constitution in time. Similarly, Sarita Gyawali, member of National Human Rights Commission, Gopal Nath Yogi, Secretary of NFN and other speakers urged the civil society to muster up its united strength to avoid the crisis which is inevitable if the constitution is not promulgated within the deadline.

In the similar programme in Mahendranagar, Sharmila Karki, Secretary General of NGO Federation of Nepal, stressed that the political parties, Constituent Assembly members, and other stakeholders should work on to respect the people’s mandate and promulgate the new constitution in time leading the peace process to a logical end. On the occasion, local journalists, members from the civil society organizations and the human rights and social activists also expressed their views.

Both of the programmes concluded with the commitments and solidarity from the participants to organize similar programmes in other parts of the country.