PP leaders from UCPN (Maoist), Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF), MPRF-Democratic, Sadbhabana Party (SP), CPN-ML, Nepal Workers Peasants´ Party and Nepal Family Party remained absent from the PP meeting on Tuesday. [break]Chief Whips from the parties, however, attended the meeting.
Nembang had called the meeting to iron out differences among parties over the system of governance to be adopted in the new constitution.
Maoist PP Leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal was abroad, but his deputy Narayankaji Shrestha and another top Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai also also did not show up.
According to a leader present, Nembang expressed serious dissatisfaction over the leaders´ indifference toward constitution writing. He also urged the leaders to cancel avoidable foreign trips.
Nembang had called the meeting to discuss how the preliminary draft reports prepared by CA thematic committees can be forwarded at the earliest to the Constitutional Committee (CC), which is entrusted with preparing an integrated draft report of the statute incorporating all 11 thematic reports.
He said the absence of PP leaders at the meeting created an awkward situation. Under the Interim Constitution, the chairman can convene a meeting of PP leaders if disputes surface over statute drafting.
"It showed that Maoists use empty rhetoric. Maoist leaders´ absence at important meetings shows they have put the statute drafting on the back burner," NC Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire told Republica.
As per understanding reached earlier, leaders at the meeting discussed the system of governance to be adopted in the new constitution.
Leaders from around 20 political parties stated their views. "All of them reiterated their stances," said a leader.
While Maoists are for an executive president and unicameral legislature without opposition, NC and UML want executive prime minister and bicameral legislature with an active role for the opposition.
Nembang urged the leaders to be flexible in finding common ground. Discussion will continue Wednesday.
Nembang took the initiative after the CA Preliminary Draft Reports Study Committee handed him on Thursday a report prepared after studying the eight preliminary drafts.
The committee came up with the report after identifying repetitions, duplications, redundancies, omissions and contradictory provisions in the reports and also suggested ways to address the shortcomings. It has identified and prepared a list of around 225 contentious issues to be sorted out in the eight thematic reports.
The committee had previously submitted the reports of the other three thematic committees.
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