Kathmandu, October 9:

Though the seven-party alliance (SPA) and the CPN-Maoist could not make much headway in yesterday’s talks, they came closer to building a consensus on major political issues, according to Nepali Congress leader Arjun Narsingh KC.

Addressing an interaction at the Reporters’ Club today, KC said both the sides would be able to find solution to all the problems within a week. He also hinted that the talks would continue for at least a week as the two sides required more homework and brainstorming on most of the issues.

KC said his party stressed the need to implement the agreements reached earlier, find mutually acceptable modalities of arms management, democratisation of the Nepali Army and integration of the Maoist’s People’s Liberation Army into the mainstream. “The NC’s position is it wants the monarchy to stay as a “powerless institution” till elections to a constituent assembly, which will decide its future,” KC said. He also claimed that all the parties were coming closer to a consensus.

CPN-UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari said his party had not changed its position of holding a referendum on monarchy during the assembly elections. Lilamani Pokharel, the vice-chairman of the Janamorcha Nepal, said that the strength of the interim legislature should not exceed more than 100 as it would be only in place till the assembly elections. “All preparations must be done on time targeting the assembly elections,” he said.

Rajendra Mahato, a lawmaker and general secretary of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party, stressed the need to find a solution to the citizenship certificate problem in the Terai region before the CA elections.

Meanwhile, UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, after the party’s standing committee meeting, reiterated his party’s stance on monarchy and other issues. He said the party would see to it that the talks come to a conclusion.