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No talks until 7-pt deal is scrapped: Koirala

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BIRATNAGAR, March 21: Nepali Congress (NC) President Sushil Koirala has ruled out any possibility of talks with ruling CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist) without first scrapping the controversial seven-point deal reached between Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.



Koirala´s remark has come in the wake of the UML and Maoist leaders statement saying they are ready to strike a new deal with the main opposition NC if the party agrees to join the government and give the current cabinet the shape of a national coalition.[break]



"We will not hold talks with the UML and Maoist leaders on any issue as long as the secret seven-point deal is not scrapped," Koirala told reporters at Biratnagar Airport on Monday. Terming the agreement reached between Khanal and Dahal an erroneous deal, he said the deal will always remain as an obstruction for cooperation and consensus among the major parties if not scrapped.



UML Chairman Khanal and Dahal secretly reached the agreement just ahead of the prime ministerial election on February 3. The deal was made public few days after Khanal was elected prime minister with support from the Maoist lawmakers.



Koirala, however, clarified that scrapping of the deal would pave the way for cooperation in constitution writing, peace process and running the government. "It is not essential for the NC to join the government to support constitution writing and peace process. The NC can play a constructive role even staying outside the government," he said.



He accused the Maoists of creating obstructions in delivering peace and constitution. He said extending the term of the Constituent Assembly (CA) for a second term is unimaginable.



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