19 parties decide to expose NC‚ UML

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Nineteen political parties today decided to organise a grand interaction among personalities from various sectors of society to inform the people what transpired during the last-hour negotiations that led to the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly.

During the meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar this morning, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had tabled two proposals — organising a broad interaction on Tuesday afternoon inviting several sections of society and a mass meeting on Sunday to counter the scheduled mass meeting of NC and UML on Friday.

Though the participating leaders of different parties agreed to organise the interaction, they however objected to the idea of organising a mass meeting next Sunday claiming that would rather spoil the environment for consensus among the four major parties in the country.

Following the meeting, Chandra Dev Joshi of CPN-United said that he, along with other leaders, objected to Dahal’s idea of organising a mass meeting to counter the NC and UML at a time when the nation is badly in need of political consensus among the major four parties of the country.

He further said he urged Dahal, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and other leaders to give the nation a way out by holding talks instead of spoiling the environment by organising separate programmes.

“This is not the right time to show strength, instead, the parties should work to find a way out,” he said. Joshi said the leaders had stalled the idea of mass meeting at least for the time being.

The parties have also urged the NC and UML to join the government to turn the Bhattarai-led government into a national consensus one.

During the meeting, the coalition partners also blamed NC and UML for carrying out activities to obstruct the new constitution making process against the people’s sentiments and aspirations.

The meeting had also discussed mobilising people against the activities of the NC and UML, who have been attempting to drag the constitutional President into dispute by challenging the government’s announcement of fresh Constituent Assembly elections.

During the meeting, Maoist Chairman Dahal stressed the need to mobilise people against the NC and UML, who, he claimed were responsible for the demise of the CA.

The meeting also decided to hold such meetings and interactions regularly and take special initiatives for political consensus to end the present political uncertainty in the country.