They said if Nembang had played an effective coordinating role, the CA could have been given a new lease of life by promulgating a framework constitution and handing over all the remaining tasks and unresolved disputes to the transitional parliament. [break]
As per the existing constitutional provision, the 601 Assembly´s role as CA would come to an end while it continued as interim legislature parliament if a new constitution had been promulgated. But the CA was dissolved as it failed to bring out even a draft.
UCPN (Maoist) Secretary and former Tourism Minister Post Bahadur Bogati, who was closely involved in the inter-party talks, believed that Nembang didn´t play as active a role as he could. "He can´t simply remain innocent by passing the bucks to the leaders from major political parties alone," said Bogati, who worked closely with Nembang as chief whip of the Maoist party before he became the minister.
According to Bogati, Nembang´s performance was unsatisfactory in the final days of the CA when his role as a catalyst would have been crucial to find an amicable solution. "Nembang himself should introspect whether or not he played an effective and active role as the chief of the CA during the crucial juncture," Bogati further said.
Brijesh Kumar Gupta of Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) said Nembang shouldn´t be held totally responsible but he can´t remain blameless either because he was one of the "main actors" responsible in the entire constitution making process. "We believe that he could have coordinated better," said former Minister for Law and Justice Gutpa.
Hemraj Bhandari of UCPN (Maoist) said had Nembang worked seriously in the final days, the CA wouldn´t have faced the unceremonious end.
"Had he prepared the draft of new constitution by incorporating all those parts that were resolved through consensus, the CA could have been given continuity. But it was only yesterday [Sunday] we found that the CA secretariat hadn´t done the job as well," said Bhandari.
Also, Navodita Chaudhary of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) criticized Nembang for failing to prepare a draft constitution and to save the CA by tabling it in the CA meeting.
"It is the CA head´s utter failure," she said.
However, Nembang termed the blames baseless. He claimed that all the leaders involved in the talks were well aware of his continuous and all-out efforts to find solution.
"I tried my level best to stop the impending political void. I even offered several alternatives that could have saved the country from the present situation, but it was all in vein as the leaders were not ready to forge consensus," Nembang told Republica.
He claimed that he presented various options in writing to all the leaders involved in the negotiations.
According to him, after knowing that the government was preparing to go for fresh elections, he reminded the prime minister and other leaders about the need to amend the constitutional provisions before going for those options. "I have given it in writing to the leaders," he said.
Also several lawmakers from various political parties fiercely criticized Nembang for not even holding a House meeting before the CA came to an end.
Chaudhary, Bhandari, Gupta and Mangalsiddhi Manandhar of CPN-UML, among others, said they felt humiliated to return home at midnight from the CA building in New Baneshwar without even attending a meeting. They criticized Nembang for not turning up at the CA building, where hundreds of lawmakers had been anxiously waiting for hours.
"We were not given a notice and we came to know about the developments through the media," said Chaudhary. "We felt insulted by the way the head of the CA behaved ."
Nembang claimed there is no point in criticizing him for not convening a meeting on Sunday as there was no business at hand due to leaders´ failure to resolve disputes in constitution writing and table the constitution bill in House.
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