Nembang gives parties a week to settle disputes

We will boycott CA, if ruling parties push majority course: Dahal

KATHMANDU, March 19: Constituent Assembly (CA) Chairman Subas Nembang has urged top leaders of major political parties to settle disputes in constitution-making within a week.

Nembang told leaders that CA proceedings can't be deferred indefinitely and that he would resume the proceedings if the parties fail to forge consensus.

"I told them clearly that now they don't have enough time. I requested them all to reach a conclusion with regard to resuming the stalled CA proceedings by March 25," Nembang told reporters after the meeting with top leaders at his chamber in Singha Durbar on Wednesday. "Otherwise, the CA has to take its course in accordance with the interim constitution, CA regulations and established practices."

The 30-party alliance led by the major opposition UCPN (Maoist) has announced not only to boycott events to be attended by prime minister but also to obstruct him from attending public functions and greet him with black flags.

"I requested them either to settle the contentious issues in consensus or to agree on the decision-making process of the CA. They should do it within a week because the situation after that may worsen further," said Nembang.

The CA chairman repeatedly urged the leaders to prove the relevance of their previous decision to defer the CA meetings. On February 12, he had deferred the CA sitting without fixing another date for the meeting. The CA plenary hasn't taken place since.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala proposed setting a deadline for promulgating a new constitution and expediting the constitution-making process. "It has become necessary to set a deadline. Otherwise, we will remain indecisive and reach nowhere," a leader quoted the prime minister as saying at the meeting.

But UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal vehemently opposed the idea saying the opposition alliance won't join the CA proceedings if the ruling coalition resumes the majority-based course under any pretext.

Dahal accused the ruling coalition of not coming up with serious proposals to settle the disputes in consensus. "The ruling parties only tried to push the majority course because they have two-thirds majority in the CA. This is unfortunate," he told reporters.

He threatened that they may quit the CA if the ruling camp confines the opposition alliance's role to just supporting the proposals forwarded by the two-thirds majority.

"We will not remain in the CA just to remain as a witness to decisions taken by NC and UML. There is no point in participating in the CA if it works like a traditional parliament," he argued.

The interparty meeting also witnessed arguments between CPN-UML Vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam and Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Nepal (MPRF-N) Chairman Upendra Yadav.

Gautam said UML will never accept separation of Tarai, Madhes and Himal in the new federal setup and ethnicity-based nomenclature of provinces. Yadav countered Gautam saying that the Madhes-based parties would never accept it.

According to participants, Yadav challenged the ruling parties to produce a new constitution and implement it. "Ruling parties may promulgate a new constitution based on two-thirds majority. We will protest it," he said. "Let the people decided whether to accept or reject it."

Bijay Gachchhadar, chairman of Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic, however was trying to placate other leaders, saying there is enough space to find common ground for settling the disputes in consensus.