KATHMANDU: Constituent Assembly chairman Subas Nembang today began informal discussions with top leaders of political parties to narrow down contentious issues surfaced in the preliminary reports of the 11 thematic committees of the CA.

Nembang discussed with Pushpa Kamal Dahal’, Ram Chandra Paudel and Jhalanath Khanal, who are parliamentary party leaders of Unified CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, respectively, at the CA building, his office, and urged them to focus themselves only in sorting out the contentious issues.

“The discussions on the reports of 11 thematic committees will end on February 4 and if the CA could not pass the reports by then, the Constitutional Committee would have no business,” Nembang told the leaders, according to an attending source. After the ongoing discussions on the thematic committees ended, the full House of the CA should endorse the reports. The endorsed reports, which include suggestions and instruction of the full House, will then be sent to the CC. The CC has mandate to compile the reports of all thematic committees and give a shape to the draft of the new constitution, as per the CA rule.

“The CA chief has also urged the main leaders of the major parties not to leave Kathmandu valley until the contentious issues are settled,” said attending leaders. Nembang also told them not to miss regular informal discussions and send their representatives if they are unable to come. The informal discussions will go on regularly, the sources said.