Acharya said he held the meetings with an objective of narrowing down differences that surfaced among the parties over recommending the provisions to be included in the new constitution. Marred by differences among parties, the committee has failed to prepare a preliminary draft report even as the CA is all set to make an eighth amendment to its schedule.
Acharya, who talked to small parties in two groups on Friday, consulted with leaders of the large political parties on Saturday. He held a separate meeting with leaders from the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML Saturday and talked to other political parties at another meeting the same day.
Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Narayankaji Shrestha and Dev Gurung from the Maoist party, Vice President Prakash Man Singh from NC and Home Minister Bhim Rawal, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey and Agni Kharel from CPN-UML were present at Acharya´s office for the discussions.
"Following the talks, I am optimistic they will help narrow down some issues," he told myrepublica.com. The CC has prepared a long list of provisions to be decided by vote. Acharya, who had earlier scheduled a vote for December 15 to resolve differences, deferred it till December 23 upon the request of the three major parties during a meeting of the committee.
A member present at the meeting said the party leaders had a common view on resolving various issues through consensus. Maoist Chairman Dahal was in favor of resolving some issues through consensus. "We still need to strive for building consensus on various issues. As the CC has additional responsibility due to its dual role it should work in consensus," a member quoted Dahal as saying at the meeting. Apart from its responsibility for preparing a preliminary draft report and concept paper as a thematic committee, the CC is also entrusted with compiling and giving an integrated form to all the 11 thematic reports.
According to the member, Acharya was encouraged by the presence of top Maoist leaders as the role of the largest party would be quite crucial while taking decisions at the committee.
"The first round of informal consultations has been completed. I will give continuity to these efforts till the last minute," he said.
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