Mass brawl breaks out in Nepal's parliament as MPs clash over new constitution
Security guards had to create a human wall to protect the government's speaker
Jack Simpson
Tuesday 20 January 2015
A massive fight broke out in Nepal’s national parliament earlier today after opposing political groups clashed over the government’s attempt to push through a new draft of the country’s constitution.
Chairs were thrown and a human barricade had to be formed by security guard's in the country’s capital Kathmandu, as opposition members tried to stop speaker and member of the ruling UML party, Subash Nemwang, from proposing a vote for a new constitutional draft in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
A number of guards were injured protecting the speaker, as members of the Party of Nepal Maoists and other opposition parties stormed the parliament and threw projectiles at the Mr Newmang.
The government is planning to push ahead with their plan of setting up a vote that aims to settle several disputed points in the new constitution.
The government believes this would resolve many of the political problems that have plagued the country since the end of the Civil War in 2006.
The Maoist-led opposition are against this idea and instead believe that Nepal, which is roughly the same size as England, should be divided into ten different states, with federal units being created along ethnic lines.
The Parliament resumed again later on Tuesday, but was adjourned until Wednesday after opposition leaders once again tried to attack the speaker.
Violence in Nepal was not only confined to parliament, there were reports of fighting across the country and police say that they detained 30 people for a variety of offences stretching from vandalism to arson.
