Taskforce meet inconclusive

KATHMANDU: The meeting of six-member task force of three parties - UCPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML — ended without making any headway towards ending the protracted political deadlock.

Following the inconclusive meeting, the taskforce members reiterated the same old rhetoric saying that “talks were going on towards the positive direction”.

Maoist vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha ‘Prakash’, who is also a member of the taskforce, said that they dwelt on preparing the consensual Sankalpa Prastav.

“Our first priority is to prepare a common Sankalpa Prastav. However, we have other options too, such as amendment of the Interim Constitution defining the President’s rights and public address by the President about his controversial step.”

According to a member of the taskforce, the Maoists insisted on the address from the President in today’s meeting.

However, NC and UML did not agree about dictating and directing the President in such a manner. NC leader and member of the taskforce Arjun Narasingh KC said, “The President can give advice to the parties to end the deadlock. But we can’t dictate or give directive to the head of the state to do something to end the impasse.”

The taskforce members will sit the next time only after consulting top leaders of their respective parties. Leader KC said, “We need to consult with the top leaders before preparing the common Sankalpa Prastav.”