Kathmandu, February 25:

NC orients party’s CA members as teams prepare to fan out across nation.

Main opposition leader Girija Prasad Koirala today said economic viability must be the basis while carving out federal states.

“If the federal states cannot be economically viable, it may lead the country to disintegration. So the economic viability should be given utmost priority while carving the federal states,” Koirala said while addressing a workshop organised by the State Restructuring Recommendation Committee of the party.

“Carving the federal states is very difficult and it is like walking on the edge of a knife. The most important thing in this process is saving the nation from disintegration,” said the former Prime Minister. The objective of federalism should always be integration of the nation and it should never lead to disintegration, he said.

He opposed the executive presidential system as proposed by the Maoists and a few other parties and said, “It may push the country towards dictatorship. The parliamentary democratic

system should be given continuity.” He added that even a minor mistake during the constitution writing process might lead the country towards autocracy.

The new constitution should have clear provision on decentralisation of power to the grassroots to empower the people. Stating that the NC always got the opportunity of lead the major movements of the country, he said, “The NC took the peace process ahead with the principle of consensus, cooperation and unity. But Prachandaji trampled upon the principle....” The responsibility of giving a democratic constitution to the nation had come to the shoulders of the NC, he added.

Senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba said the challenge before the NC was instutionalising the parliamentary system as the Unified CPN-Maoist was against the system. “The NC will have to fight for a strong democratic system so that no body could snatch it again,” he said.

The party organised the workshop to orient its CA members, as the CA members prepare to fan out across the country on Friday to collect people’s opinions on the new constitution.