Prime Minister Koirala is representing the ruling parties while Chairman Dahal is leading the 30-party alliance in the talks to be held to seek out an agreement on the major contents of the new constitution. An agreement to hold the decisive talks between the two leaders was reached after the talks held this evening among the major political parties failed to draw out a conclusion. The talks were held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar.
It was the Prime Minister, who is also President of the ruling Nepali Congress, who proposed the bilateral talks to build an atmosphere conducive to promulgation of the new constitution on the basis of a consensus, according to UCPN-M Vice Chair Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
The Prime Minister is said to have urged the leaders to move the negotiation ahead around the developments reached on January 19. Then the parties had reached to a consensus on issues other than on restructuring of the state.
Prime Minister Koirala stressed on reducing the scale of dispute among the parties and not fueling it while holding rigorous discussion on disputed issues than on agreed subjects, said Minister for Law and Justice Narhari Acharya.
He said the parties' discussion was centered on seeking a base for bringing the constitution making process to a conclusion. "PM Koirala expressed his commitment to draft the constitution on the basis of consensus and stressed on holding fruitful negotiation," Minister Acharya said.
At the start of the meeting PM Koirala gave the floor to CPN (UML) Vice Chairman Bamdev Gautam, on behalf of the ruling parties, to table his views while entering into the subjects of the negotiation.
Gautam, on basis of the meeting held at the UML Chair KP Sharma Oli's residence on Friday, underlined the need to hold discussions by focusing on the nine-point proposal submitted by the ruling parties in November.
When Gautam pressed for holding negotiations on nine-point proposal citing the PM's emphasis on holding result-oriented negotiation by hovering over the agreement reached on January 19, the leaders of the UCPN (Maoist) alliance expressed concern.
UML Vice Chair Gautam reiterated the ruling parties' stance against ethnicity-based federal state model and splitting the hilly and Terai regions in name of identity and considering the CA mandate by internalizing the past agreements and understandings.
Barshaman Pun, Secretary of UCPN (Maoist) shared that his party took the stance that a consensus was not possible with the Prime Minister calling the opposition for talks on the contentious issues while Bamdev Gautam, who is leading from CPN (UML), for talks based on the nine-point agreement.
However, UML Vice-chair Gautam clarified that he was tabling the issue of nine-point agreement as per the decision of his party. He stated," The re-structuring of the State was not possible on the basis of ethnicity, the UCPN (Maoist) and Madhesh-centric parties expressed qualm when I, on the behalf of my party, made it clear that the Tarai and hills cannot be divided."
Ramchandra Poudel, Vice-President of Nepali Congress, leader Sher Bahadur Poudel, Bhim Rawal, the Vice-Chairman of UCPN (Maoist), leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, UCPN-M General Secretary Krishna Bahadur Mahara and senior leaders of the Madhesi Front were also present in the meeting. RSS
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