The 30-party opposition alliance on Saturday termed Prime Minister Sushil Koirala’s renewed call for talks as positive but said it still failed to create an atmosphere for a formal dialogue.
Meeting at the Parliamentary Party office of the main Opposition, the UCPN (Maoist) which leads the alliance, the parties said they were disappointed that the Prime Minister did not categorically announce drafting the Constitution through consensus and revocation of the process of voting on the disputes regarding the new statute.
Some local reports said a few leaders in the alliance termed the dialogue call, issued again on Friday, as conspiracy to derail the Opposition’s protest rally in then capital and elsewhere on February 28.
The PM had issued his first formal call on February 8 after the alliance announced boycotting all proceedings in the Constituent Assembly. The ruling parties have more than the required two-thirds majority in the 601-member Assembly to endorse the statute. The alliance maintains that it would only go for drafting of the new Constitution through consensus.
It has, however, decided to continue informal talks with the ruling parties, the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist).
The ruling and Opposition parties have not been able to settle disputes over federalism, model of governance and electoral system despite many rounds of formal and informal talks.
