Koirala, while addressing a function in his home district Banke, said that his party would officially decide to go for fresh elections while Paudel in Kathmandu reiterated his call for CA revival, the proposal lobbied for by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.[break]
"There is no possibility of resurrecting the dead assembly. Some NC leaders have stood in favor of CA revival because the party is yet to officially decide to go for fresh elections," RSS quoted Koirala as saying at a function in Nepalgunj. "There is no alternative to fresh elections."
He also claimed that the NC and CPN-UML would shortly intensify their agitations to unseat the government. He further instructed the party rank and file to be prepared to take to the streets starting November 9.
However, Paudel reiterated that the dissolved CA should be reinstated for a brief period for the purpose of promulgating a new constitution.
He made it clear that the disputes over major provisions of the new constitution should be resolved and an agreement sealed prior to resurrecting the CA.
"We need to reach an agreement over the integrated draft of the new constitution and ensure that no one will backtrack from the agreement once the draft is floated in the revived CA for endorsement," Paudel told reporters gathered at his residence on Friday. "Otherwise we have to go for fresh elections."
The two leaders´ remarks come at a time when key leaders of the major opposition party NC have remained divided over the two options - either to go for fresh CA elections or revive the CA to promulgate the new constitution -- for ending the political stalemate.
Party President Koirala and some other leaders have stood firmly against reviving the CA while two other leaders - former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Paudel are for resurrecting the defunct body.
Paudel was of the view that reviving the CA had also become essential to pave the way for fresh elections through amendments to election-related laws and provisions in the Interim Constitution and to appoint the heads and members of crucial constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission and the CIAA (Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority).
Paudel criticized those leaders who have been opposing the idea of CA revival for not being able to float a better proposal to end the political stalemate.
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