Dahal proposes presidential poll

UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that opposition parties should also agree to hold presidential election if they want to go for fresh polls without reinstating the Constituent Assembly.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Dahal is learnt to have presented the new proposal to Nepali Congress chief Sushil Koirala during their meeting Thursday morning. If the parties agree to reinstate the Constituent Assembly, then a constitution can be promulgated by the revived CA to pave the way for parliamentary elections, said Dahal. He added that his party would then be willing to accept a Congress-led government to hold polls, news reports said.

Dahal's proposal comes amid sharp division between the parties over the proposal to reinstate the CA and which party is to lead the government of national consensus. While Congress leaders have been rejecting the Maoist proposal to reinstate the CA to amend the constitution to go for election, UCPN (M) leaders have been maintaining that NC's demand that the PM resign is unacceptable.

UCPN (M) chief, who has been drawing flak for changing his stance on the fate of CA time and again, returned with 'renewed vigour' from Belgium on Wednesday. nepalnews.com