KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress (NC) today decided to initiate bilateral and multilateral talks with other parties to resolve contentious issues relating to peace and constitution drafting processes.

A meeting of the NC talks-team, led by NC Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Paudel, which was formed to discuss contentious issues with various political parties, held at the party headquarters made the decision.

"The team will discuss issues such as returning seized property and managing Maoist combatants and weapons seriously," said team member Arjun Narsingh KC. The team will also sort out issues to be addressed by the new constitution, he added.

The seven-member team includes Bimalendra Nidhi, Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Amod Prasad Upadhyay and Mahesh Acharya.

Meanwhile, NC is preparing to postpone its 12th National General Convention (NGC) for the third time. The NC Central Committee meeting slated for February 9 will fix the new date for the convention.

The party has already missed two deadlines and it could be the third time to do so. The 12th NGC should have been convened one-and-a-half years ago as per party statute.

"We are planning to postpone the NGC but not later than mid-May 2010," said KC. Today's meeting of the talks-team decided to expedite preparations for the NGC, he added.

The party is yet to accomplish all preparations for holding the NGC such as issuing active membership, holding district level conventions and settling disputes surfaced after the merger of the then NC and the NC-Democratic.

The new NGC will form a new leadership and a central committee under semi-collective leadership system and set party policy for the next three-year term.

Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has already announced his retirement from the party's top post effective from the new NGC.