NeWS

Maoist, UML agree on Security Council plan Kathmandu, June 23 - Following a walkout of the CPN-Maoist from the seven-party meeting on Sunday, the CPN-Maoist and CPN-UML on Monday reached an agreement not to have opposition party leader as a member in the Security Council. After the Nepali Congress stuck to its proposal of keeping opposition party leader as member of the Council, the CPN-Maoist had walked out of the seven-party meeting. Maoist party leaders had said that they would not go to Prime Minister’s residence for talks again and would opt for the constitutional process to find out a solution through the Constituent Assembly (CA). Senior leaders of both the parties including chairman Prachanda, leaders Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Krishna Bahadur Mahara from the Maoist party and general secretary Jhalanath Khanal and leaders Madav Kumar Nepal and Amrit Bohara attended the meeting held at the parliamentary party office of the CPN-Maoist.Maoist leader Dr. Bhattarai said, "The seven-party consensus has been broken from Sunday because of NC’s greed for power. We will try to end the political stalemate through the CA."He accused Nepali Congress of sticking to power ignoring the nation’s serious situation. "We should expose the irresponsibility of NC," he added.
UML general secretary Khanal said, "We decided not to include opposition party in the Security Council since there is no practice of including opposition in the Council in a democratic country." There are other ways to include an opposition party in a democratic party.The two-party leaders had discussed contentious issues including future political course, operation of CA and legislature parliament and power sharing.As the major political parties are unable to reach a consensus on present political issues, the CA has no business except declaring the nation a republican.Meanwhile, NC vice president and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Paudel on Monday said, "The opposition party needs to be represented in the Council because the work of integrating Maoist combatants cannot be left only to the Maoist party as it still has rebel army."Addressing the 11th convention of National Teachers’ Union in Lalitpur, he accused the Maoists of trying to politicise the national army in the name of integration of Maoist combatants.