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| Kathmandu, Tuesday March 11, 2003 Falgun 27, 2059. |
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NC, UML adamant on their stances
Post Report
KATHMANDU, March 10:His Majesty King Gyanendra today reiterated the commitment to the
present constitution in separate audiences granted to Nepali Congress (NC) president
Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, but remained
non-committal on the demands raised by both the leaders.
While Koirala reiterated his demand of the reinstatement of the House of Representatives
to usher
the country out of the current constitutional and political limbo, Nepal put forth the
demand for the
formation of an all-party government under the spirit of the constitution.
"Our party president has reiterated the demand to restore the parliament. I think
interaction must
be considered fruitful if it culminates in good results," said Govind Raj Joshi, NC
joint general
secretary.
The king had granted audience to Koirala between 4-4:30 p.m. while the audience granted to
Nepal followed soon after for about two hours.
The NC had been demanding reinstatement of the House whereas the CPN-UML has been
insisting for an all-party government ever since the dissolution of the House of
Representatives on
May 22. During the audience, Koirala insisted to know the royal stance on the current
constitution and spirit of the 1990’s people’s movement.
However, although the king indicated at a joint audience to the leaders of four political
parties as
demanded by Nepal and Koirala, nothing was forthcoming on the political demands raised by
the
two leaders.
Talking to The Kathmandu Post UML chief Nepal said, "The king said he would grant a
joint
audience to the leaders of four political parties immediately after returning from India
visit." The
king is scheduled to embark on a private visit to India on March 18.
Referring to the content of the audience, Nepal added, "I told him (king) that as of
now there was
guided democracy in vogue even in the multi-party system." Moreover, he also
reiterated the need
of a national government led by major political parties.
Both the leaders have claimed that the king has expressed commitment to the current
constitution and spirit of the movement for the restoration of democracy in 1990.
"I am the preserver of the constitution. There will not be any violation of the
constitution from me,"
Nepal attributed the king to have reassured him in the course of the audience. Nepal also
urged
the monarch to get all the constitutional forces united in order to resolve the current
political
impasse.
Coming around the Maoist issues, the king made it clear that neither had he reached any
secret
deal with the Maoists nor has any Maoist leader met him yet.
Significantly, Nepal had also demanded the immediate dismissal of the incumbent Lokendra
Bahadur Chand-government, saying it was merely trying to extend its tenure under the
excuses of
cease-fire and peace negotiation with the Maoists.
Earlier in the day, the leaders of the UML, Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party, the NC
and the
People’s Front-Nepal had conferred and came to a conclusion that joint audience could
go a long
way in resolving the outstanding issues.
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