Nepal's constitution drafting process gets stalled

The constitution drafting process in Nepal has been stalled for an indefinite period due to dispute among parties, political leaders said Tuesday.

"There is a greater possibility of confront among the parties, the constitution drafting process has been stalled," Xinhua quoted United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as saying here Tuesday.

The meeting of the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (PDCC), a vital committee responsible for the settlement of contentious issues, was postponed for an indefinite period after opposition parties tried to block the proposal of the ruling parties on contentious issues of a new constitution.

On Monday evening, majority members of PDCC submitted signatures of 43 members in favour of the joint proposal. Soon after receiving the memorandum, PDCC chairman Baburam Bhattarai, also a senior leader of UCPN-Maoist, postponed the meeting, saying the signature campaign had put him in a tight spot.

Nepali Congress vice president Ram Chandra Poudel has demanded to call the meeting of PDCC as soon as possible.

However, the next meeting of PDCC is unlikely before top leaders of major parties settle their dispute which surfaced after the ruling parties came up with a joint proposal on contentious issues of the new constitution and pressed the opposition to accept the proposal.