The CA chairman sought their help to press the top leadership of their parties to find a solution through dialogues. "I have so far not set any agenda item for the next CA meeting. If the parties create an environment for consensus I will arrange the House proceedings accordingly," said Nembang after the meeting with chief whips at his chamber in Singha Durbar on Wednesday.
Chief whips of Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist), Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N), RPP, Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic (MPRF-D), MPRF and Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party attended the discussions.
Leaders at the meeting were upbeat about the possibility of constructive negotiations taking place in the days to come as the opposition parties have returned to talks table after withdrawing their general strike scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
Leaders from opposition alliance said that Nembang's move to defer the CA meeting for a week laid the ground for withdrawal of the general strike and that they expect similar steps in the days to come.
"I urged the CA chairman to convene a meeting of top leaders and find solutions to all major thorny issues in a package and not in isolation," UCPN (Maoist) Chief Whip Girirajmani Pokharel told reporters after the meeting. "The ruling parties should make changes in their past positions and come up with more practical solutions."
UML Chief Whip Agni Kharel said the ruling coalition is ready for settling issues in a package if it is viable.
He also said that the ruling parties are also ready to send the disputed issues back to the CA's Constitutional Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (CPDCC) if four political forces -- NC, UML, UCPN (Maoist) and the alliance of Madhes-based parties -- reach a political understanding.
Leaders involved in interparty negotiations were optimistic about the political parties settling issues as leaders from both the sides have realized of late that there is no option other than finding a solution through negotiations.
"On top of that, second-rung leaders in all the major political forces have exerted pressure on top leadership to negotiate the issues and not to walk out from the talks," said a senior leader involved in negotiations.
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