Parties express commitment to draft constitution by May 28

Leaders of the political parties in the Constituent Assembly have expressed their commitment to draft the new constitution within the prescribed time (May 28).

Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the Constitutional Committee, which has senior leaders of most of the key parties, the leaders assured cooperation in the drafting process so the constitution gets promulgated within the deadline.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal told reporters after the CC meeting that the parties have agreed to accelerate the groundwork for the new constitution. According to him, the representatives of the parties in the committee today agreed to iron out their differences on the contentious issues.

CC chairperson Nilambar Acharya also informed that the leaders of three major parties said they were ready for consensus to make sure that the statute gets promulgated on time.

Acharya added that the committee would take all necessary measures to build consensus among the parties in the CA.

Representatives of some parties said the CA should go for a brief constitution if issuing a complete constitution becomes impossible. However, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said his party was not in favour of concise statute and that it should be issued within the stipulated time.

He further said promulgation of the statute by May 28 is possible provided there is comprehensive debate on state restructuring and the state's governance system. nepalnews.com