Nov 1 PDCC limit to sort disputes

Wed, Oct 22, 2014 12:00 AM on Others, Others,

KATHMANDU, OCT 22 -

The Constituent Assembly on Tuesday directed its Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee to settle outstanding issues of constitution writing by November 1.

This is the fourth extension of the deadline of the PDCC which has repeatedly failed to settle forms of government, judiciary and electoral system, among other disputes.

CA Chairman Subas Nembang said it was the final deadline for the parties to settle the contention. As PDCC Chairman Baburam Bhattarai was engaged in three-party talks, Sadbhawana Party lawmaker Laxman Lal Karna presented the committee’s report at the CA meeting.

Lawmakers were sharply divided over the way forward. CPN-UML lawmaker Bharat Mohan Adhikari said voting should be initiated if there is no agreement on the contents of the statute by November 1. UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Janardan Sharma warned there would be confrontation if consensus approach was flouted. CA members from fringe parties criticised major parties alleging that they had bypassed the CA by holding crucial talks outside of it.

Resort talks fail to yield much

Three major parties Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist) have begun what they call “serious negotiations” to settle contentious issues of the statute drafting process in a package.

Top leaders of the parties, along with some second-rung leaders, began fresh talks at Gokarna Forest Resort with a commitment to finding a compromise on contentious issues. Interlocutors said that in Tuesday’s bilateral and multilateral talks parties were focused on theoretical aspects of the disputed agendas.

NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel and UML Chairman KP Oli talked separately with UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on federalism. He said it would be difficult to promulgate a constitution without addressing the identity issue while the NC and UML asked him to agree to a small number of states in the federal set-up.

Source: The Kathmandu Post