Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, center, smiles as Nepalese lawmakers begin voting on a draft of the new constitution at the Constituent Assembly Hall in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, September 13, 2015.

Nepal’s Constituent Assembly rejected calls to revert the Himalayan nation back to a Hindu state during voting Monday on a draft of the country’s long-delayed new constitution, sparking violent protests.

Nepal’s main political parties are attempting to get the new constitution passed this week.

On Monday, to declare Nepal a Hindu nation proposal was declined by the constituent assembly, which once again reaffirmed that the Nepal, which is Hindu-majority nation, will remain secular.

Nepal was converted into secular state in 2008 through a Parliament declaration, when monarchy was abolished from the country following the success of the People’s Movement. As of Monday, the 601- member CA approved 37 articles of the proposed document. Hundreds of Hindu protesters clashed with the cops outside the Assembly Hall.

He said that the voting, which was to start on Friday last week, was postponed for two days at the request of the major political parties.

Nepal has had an interim constitution since pro-democracy protests forced then-King Gyanendra to give up authoritarian rule and turn the country into a republic.

Many people in the region bordering India oppose the draft constitution, which would split their narrow homeland and merge pieces into larger provinces with other ethnic groups.

Violent protests over the past more than one month have already claimed more than 40 lives and the Madhes-based political parties and communities have boycotted the ongoing exercise in the Constituent Assembly to approve the new constitution.

According to Kuinkel, Chairman of the Constituent Assembly Subhas Nembang will extend a formal invitation to President Yadav for unveiling the much-awaited new constitution in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.