Kathmandu, November 28:

The leaders of the seven-party alliance said today that the 12-point “understanding” reached with the Maoists on November 22 was a “preliminary one” and much homework was needed to clarify on some issues stated in it. Addressing a function here, Nepali Congress central working committee member, Arjun Narsingh KC, said the parties-Maoist understanding was a preliminary one and there were some “loopholes” that required clarification.

He said that the understanding was reached to go to a constituent assembly election through the revival of the dissolved House of Representatives. “The situation (parties-Maoists deal) emerged on the backdrop of the NC deciding to remain impervious to the monarchy, the CPN-UML to go to democratic republic and the Maoists’ unilateral ceasefire,” KC said, adding,

“Future political course will largely depend on how the King reacts.” He added that the understanding was made to give the Maoists a political space so that they could return to political mainstream.

Standing committee member of the CPN-UML, Pradip Nepal, opined that the CPN-Maoist’s central committee decision to abide by universal values of democracy was a true realization on their part that arms struggle would not be a panacea to political problems. “The parties have realised their responsibility to the nation twice, the first when they forged an alliance on May 8 and the second when they reached an understanding with the Maoists on November 22,” he said, adding that the alliance succeeded in convincing the Maoists to multiparty democracy .

General-secretary of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandi Devi), Hridayesh Tripathi, who was one of the alliance leaders to hold talks with the Maoist leadership, said that the main objective of the understanding was to draft a new constitution through the constituent assembly election and restructure the state mechanism that is in existence for the last 237 years.