UCPN (Maoists) ask NC, UML to bring proposal, PM candidate

KATHMANDU, Nov 25: The UCPN (Maoist) has asked Nepali Congress and CPN-UML to bring a package proposal including the name of new prime ministerial candidate for forming national consensus government.



During a meeting of the top leaders of the three major parties at Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR) in Singha Durbar Saturday evening, the Maoist leaders demanded that the opposition parties first come up with a concrete proposal including new prime ministerial candidate. [break]



The NC and UML have agreed to bring the proposal during the next meeting after necessary consultations in their respective parties, said Maoist Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.



While Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Vice Chairman Shrestha attended the meeting from UCPN (Maoist), NC President Sushil Koirala and Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel representated NC. Likewise, UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and Vice Chairman Bam Dev Gautam attended the meeting that also saw presence of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai.



Talking to media persons after the meeting, Shrestha said the parties had agreed to form national consensus government at the earliest and hold fresh Constituent Assembly (CA) polls by mid-May by bringing necessary amendment in election related laws and in the interim constitution.



“Though we have been maintaining that our first priority is to give shape of national consensus to the current government, we have said in the meeting that we were ready to exercise maximum flexibility for such a government,” he added.



The top leaders of ruling and opposition parties had sat for the meeting a day after the call of President Ram Yadav even as the ruling parties have termed the move ´unconstitutional´. “This meeting was not possible if we only considered the president´s call. While we are terming it unconstitutional, the opposition parties have termed it constitutional and necessary,” he further said.



Paudel said that since the prime minister had made it clear that the decision of the top leaders of the three major parties was acceptable to him, they decided to continue negotiations in coming days.



“All parties are positive on holding the fresh election by mid-May after forging consensus on all issues. The discussion focused on how we can reach consensus on all these issues,” he added.

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