Leaders privy to developments in interparty negotiations said that they took the decision as the four major political forces - Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist) and UDMF - are zeroing in on the key thorny issues that they aim to reach a political deal over within a few days.
"We are very close to resolving the disputes and now plan to settle everything by Monday and initiate the Constituent Assembly procedures thereafter," UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli told reporters while emerging from the big four meeting at the prime minister's official residence at Baluwatar, Friday.According to Oli, the four sides are concentrating all their efforts on settling the disputes over proposed models for state restructuring. These disputes have remained the toughest issue in constitution making since the last seven years.
Oli said they are putting in all efforts to agree on a six-province model for the federal structure.
Of late, NC and UML leaders have been pressing for a broader political deal, including delineation of six or less number of provinces, authorizing the assemblies of the respective provinces to name their provinces themselves, and entrusting a commission with the task of demarcating the provinces. But UCPN (Maoist), which is ready to go for a six-province model, has insisted on naming the provinces in the political deal itself, on the basis of multiple identity.
"We are holding discussions on various models but all the sides are now closer to a six-province model," said UDMF Coordinator Bijay Gachchhadar. "All that we now need to settle is how to do all these things in actual practice."
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who is also president of the NC, UML Chairman Oli, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and UDMF Coordinator Gachchhadar.
The leaders decided to engage with the representatives of all parties in the CA as some of them have expressed reservations over Dahal's stance with regard to the key contentious issues.
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