KATHMANDU: Constituent Assembly (CA) Chairman Subas Chandra Nembang today alleged that the Unified CPN-Maoist was not playing the role of "an ideal opposition".

Speaking at the first annual general meeting of Asia Journalists Association Nepal, Nembang said that the Maoists failed to prove themselves as the ideal opposition by obstructing the passing of the budget through parliament.

"The opposition doesn't do such work as obstructing the House and not letting the budget pass," he said, adding that the Maoists displayed rather strange character here in the country.

Nembang was of the opinion that the continuous halting of the House business obstructed the voices of public and which would eventually weaken the political parties and the public.

Casting doubt over the timely promulgation of the new constitution, the CA chair also expressed disappointment as the yawning gap among the political parties was increasing.

"Though the political parties are talking about the timely drafting of the new statue, lack of consensus among the parties shows that it may be impossible," he claimed.

According to him, the political parties would be held responsible for the possible consequences if the constitution could not be drafted within the stipulated timeframe. "Mostly, the Maoists should be blamed if the constitution cannot be drafted within the deadline," he added. Nilambar Acharya, chairman of the Constitutional Committee, assured that the new constitution would be written on the democratic norms and values. "People cannot be sovereign without guarantee of press freedom," adding, "The new constitution will be worthless if there was not such a freedom," he said.