Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has claimed that President Ram Baran Yadav has not exactly given any fixed deadline to the parties to arrive at a political consensus on major issues including the budget and new election.

In a meeting with the UCPN (Maoist) party aligned Revolutionary Journalist Association at the PMO this afternoon, PM Bhattarai said that he got a clear message from President Yadav during a joint discussion with the top leaders of major parties today morning that he will not take any step without first taking all the political parties into confidence.

However, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar had told reporters after the meeting that the President asked the parties to reach consensus on all key issues by November 22.

The President is learnt to have further told the leaders he would formally call on all parties to form a government of national consensus with a timeline in accordance with the provision of the Interim Constitution if they failed to reach consensus by Nov 22.

But PM Bhattarai blamed the the opposition parties of being intent upon increasing conflict between the President and Prime Minister, adding that such an action can be detrimental to the country, the people and the opposition parties themselves. He further said that the issue of budget is above party politics and government formation and asked the opposition parties not to engage in ‘budget politics’ or make it a ‘political weapon’ to serve their own interests. nepalnews.com