Kathmandu, June 11 :

The vice-president of the Nepali Congress, Shusil Koirala, today urged Maoist supremo Prachanda to create an environment more conducive to the dialogue process and peace as per the spirit of the people’s movement and the 25-point ceasefire code of conduct.

Koirala said the government has created an environment for talks by removing the red-corner notices and the terrorist-tag from the rebels, releasing Maoist prisoners and declaring a ceasefire.

Koirala was inaugurating a conference of the Democratic University Teachers’ Association at Kirtupur. He said a new constitution to be drafted through elections to a constituent assembly would be inclusive and the state mechanism would be restructured to accommodate people of all social strata. He said that on Friday, party president and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had asked the Maoists to be sincere in finding solutions through talks.

“Maoist chairman Prachanda is worried about the PM’s poor health,” Koirala also quoted a leader of the Maoist talks team, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, as saying during the Friday meeting of the Maoist talks team.

Koirala said the recent political changes in Nepal was one of the biggest achievements in the history of the world and that leaders around the world had lauded the PM for the change.

PM Koirala was supposed to address the conference today, but could not make it due to his ill health. He, however, sent a message, saying that the Nepali people had become the sources of power. “It is the duty of all to safeguard the achievements of the movement,” said the message read out by general secretary of the Nepal University Teachers’ Association, Rameshwor Upadhyaya.

Minister of Education and Sports Dr Mangal Siddhi Manandhar said the government is looking into issues raised by the university teachers. He said processes are underway to fill the vacant seats in various universities and that radical changes were needed to make the education sector more productive and result oriented.

Manandhar also urged the university teachers to make suggestions on the elections to a constituent assembly.

Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahantha Thakur said the April revolution had to take place after the 1990 constitution failed to address the problems of the people. The new constitution must be able to address all problems, he said. General secretary of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) Prakash Man Shrestha said autocracy could be defeated only after the people’s forces came together through the 12-point understanding between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists.