We are ready to discuss CA reinstatement: Dahal

KATHMANDU, June 6: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said Tuesday that his party was open to discussing all options, including reinstating the dissolved Constituent Assembly (CA), with other political parties in a bid to resolve the current political deadlock.

Dahal, who had a one-on-one meeting with President Ram Baran Yadav on Monday on the current political situation, said the CA could be reinstated through invocation of the president´s powers to remove difficulties, if there was consensus among all the political parties. [break]

"The best option is to go for a new election of the Constituent Assembly," Dahal told an interaction in Kathmandu, "If not, a way can be worked out provided we forge consensus on the issue on which we differed -- federalism with identity. Discussions have already begun [in that direction]."

Dahal added, "The way out is reinstatement of the dissolved Constituent Assembly through [the decision of] the president. We are ready to discuss [this issue]...this means we are ready to discuss other options also."

Dahal said he had reached out to the leaders of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML in his bid to reopen talks with them. The political parties have stopped meeting since the dissolution of the CA.

"I proposed to the leaders of the Nepali Congress and the UML this [Tuesday] morning to resume talks," he told the interaction attended by people from different callings in Kathmandu. "Political consensus is more needed at this time when there is no Constituent Assembly."

But Nepali Congress General Secretary Krishna Sitaula told Republica that Dahal has not made any proposal on resuming talks.

Dahal´s readiness to discuss reinstating the CA comes at a time when a group of former CA members from the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML have demanded reinstatement of the dissolved body.

But addressing the same interaction, leader of the United Democratic Madhesi Front Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar expressed reservations over the proposal to reinstate the CA.

CARTOON BY RAJESH KC

"We do not want a constitution drafted by a commission. We want a constitution with federalism based on identity drafted by the new Constituent Assembly," said Gachchhadar, asking, "But who will reinstate it and which provision of the constitution will be invoked?"

The ruling parties had organized the interaction to make clear their positions on the dissolution of the CA and on the circumstances that led the government to announce fresh CA elections.