Kathmandu, July 26:

The NC (D) leadership is expected to suggest the Interim Constitution Drafting Committee (ICDC) that the Constituent Assembly (CA) be given the responsibility of deciding on the status of the constitutional monarch. The party is expected to forward its suggestion to the ICDC in a few days.

The draft statute being discussed in the party will have to be endorsed by the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the party, which will be convened on Friday.

The position taken by the NC (D) leadership on the status of the king is much in tune with the position taken by the NC at the end of its meeting, which was held last week. The party had fallen far short of saying that the status of the constitutional monarch too be taken as interim.

The fact that the NC (D) leadership, too, will be soft on the issue became clear today when a top leader of the party said the party would not suggest the Aryal Committee to identify the status of the monarch as interim “pending the elections to a Constituent Assembly (CA).”

Earlier in the day, lawmakers from the party were asked how should the interim statute look like. The lawmakers stressed the need to put an end to citizenship papers distribution row well before the CA polls are held. They were, however, found differing over the kind of

state structure that should be in place.

The 19-member panel of the party, which has been formed to suggest a draft to the leadership, is headed by party general secretary Bimalendra Nidhi.