KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress leader Dr Ram Sharan Mahat today said that the key reason for the Maoist combatants not coming under the control of the government’s Special Committee on Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of the combatants was the ‘irresponsible’ behaviour of Unified CPN-Maoist.

Stating that the Maoist leaders were giving political sermon to the combatants in the cantonments, he said, “The combatants are getting around Rs 170 million per month from the public purse, they, however, are still under the control of Unified CPN-Maoist but not under the government’s special committee. “Maoists are preventing the government from bringing the combatants under its control,” he added.

Speaking at Reporter’s Club Nepal, Mahat also accused the UNMIN

of failing to monitor the cantonments properly and play a

constructive role.

Dr Mahat and CPN-UML Chief Whip Bhim Acharya said that the constitution drafting process was in limbo due to Maoists’ non-cooperation.

“Maoists say they are committed to write constitution on time. But, in practice, they are blocking the process of raising trivial issues and demanding their leadership in the power,” Acharya said.

Acharya also suggested the leaders of political parties not to drag the UNMIN into controversy and settle debatable issues by holding a tripartite meeting among the government, UNMIN and UCPN-M.

The UML leader said if the present situation continued for few more days, the project of writing new constitution on time would not be possible.

Congress leader Dr Mahat said, “The UCPN-M’s activities shows that they were uninterested to write constitution on time.”

Constituent Assembly member from the UCPN-M Indrajit Rai suggested political parties not to drag the UNMIN into controversies. He accused the government officials, deployed in cantonments, of failing to keep proper records of combatants and blaming the UNMIN

unnecessarily. Rai also claimed that integration of few thousand combatants in Nepali Army would not

create any problem in the army as the combatants would come under the military law.