‘Never favoured idea of House to write statute’
In remarks that may raise a fresh storm in Nepal, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that he was never in favour of the Constituent Assembly drafting a Constitution and had agreed to it to “please” the Maoists.
Nepal said there were other options for writing a Constitution, and he was not in favour of the CA personally.
“Personally, I was not in favour of CA. There are other ways also to write the statute,” he said after meeting visiting Norwegian minister for environment and international development Erik Solheim on Friday.
Mr Nepal said he had accepted the idea of the Constituent Assembly to please the Maoists and it was frustrating that the former rebels were now themselves trying to get it dissolved.
“I had never accepted the idea of the CA drafting the statute. There are other ways to write the Constitution besides the CA,” he said.
“I accepted the CA idea to please the Maoists and also because I supposed it would be good for the nation. Now, the Maoists are trying to dissolve the CA, which is very disgusting,” he was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.
Political parties are presently struggling to find a consensus to extend the term of the 601-member Assembly that is set to expire on May 28 without fulfilling its key task of framing a Constitution.
Amid the crisis, the Maoists have said they would declare a new Constitution from the streets on May 29. Nepal’s top Madhesi leader Upendra Yadav slammed Prime Minister Nepal for his remarks, saying they point out to a conspiracy against the republican system and in favour of reviving the 1990 Constitution. “The Prime Minister’s statement is objectionable as it indicates a conspiracy to end the present republican system and revive monarchy,” he charged.
He also slammed the Maoists for what he calls their attempt to impose a totalitarian rule in the country.
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