Pokhara, September 22:

Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D) president Sher Bahadur Deuba today called for “political discussions on 22-point demands put forth by the Maoists”.

Inaugurating the seventh gathering of the central committee of the Tribhuvan University Staffers’ Association here, he said, “A conclusion should be reached on the 22-point charter through the discussions.”

Saying that a suspicion has arisen over the possibility of holding the constituent assembly polls on time after the Maoists quit the government, Deuba asked the parties to go for the poll process after bringing the Maoists back to the government.

Terming the prevailing political condition in the country ‘fluid’, he said, “I don’t believe that the Maoists, who are part of the peace process now, will carry arms again.”

“The people want the CA polls conducted,” he said, adding that the Maoists will not go against the people’s wish. Saying that there is no alternative to the eight-party unity, he said that the unity should be strengthened further. He demanded that political agreements be made to bring the Maoists back to the government.

Deuba said he will make attempts to bring the Maoists back to the government after returning to the capital today.

“The poll will be meaningless without the involvement of the Maoists, who came to the peace process after a decade-long war,” he said, adding, “It is inappropriate on the part of the seven parties to ignore the Maoists at a time when the Maoists have been saying that they are committed to the peace process.”

CPN-UML Kaski secretary Ranindra Adhikari and chairman of the Nepal Students’ Union- Democratic Kalyan Gurung also spoke on the occasion. Over 300 staffers of the TU are taking part in the gathering, the organisers said.