Nepal President appeals for consensus to draft Constitution

Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav today advised the top leaders of the country's four major parties to complete the task of naming and delineating the federal provinces before taking the preliminary draft of the new Constitution to the people.
During a meeting with top leaders here, Yadav suggested that the other disgruntled political parties be included in a consensus before finalising the Constitution.
The president's call comes at a time when some Madhesi parties have boycotted the Constitution-drafting process demanding naming and delineation of the federal provinces before preparing the draft constitution.
Yadav, however, congratulated and thanked the four major political parties for signing the 16-point pact that paves the way for drafting the new Constitution by forging consensus on key issues.

He also urged the top leaders to address the demands of the disgruntled parties after making some amendment to the draft to bring them into consensus, according to Vijaya Kumar Gachhadar, president of the Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum (MPRF) Democratic, who had participated in the meeting.
The president also enquired about how the demands of the Madhes-based parties relating to the citizenship issues could be addressed in the draft constitution.

During the meeting top leaders of the four major parties assured the president that the new Constitution will be promulgated on time with maximum consensus, Gachchhadar said.
The leaders assured the President that they would move ahead by properly addressing the issues raised by disgruntled parties and feedbacks of people regarding the new Constitution.

Lauding the unity shown by all parties to face disaster after the deadly earthquake in April, Yadav urged them to show such unity in the rehabilitation and construction tasks.
Present on the occasion were Prime Minister and Nepali Congress chief Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairman K P Sharma Oli, UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and Gachchhadar.