Lalitpur, August 1:

General secretary of the CPN-UML Jhala Nath Khanal today stressed the need to form a consensus government to let the constitution-drafting process move smoothly.

“The UML will not forge an alliance with other parties to form a government by sidelining the Maoists,” he said, addressing a district-level UML activists’ meeting in Lalitpur. He said the new government must be led by the Maoists and other parties should join it. Khanal said the UML would not join a Maoist-led government if other parties did not do so.

“Our presence in the government will surely make a difference in the CA. We need to remember that only through consensus can we draft a constitution,” he said. He also urged UML activists to take part in organisation-strengthening programmes. “Though the party was defeated in the CA polls, the UML has the best organisational strength,” he said.