UML Chairman KP Oli made a formal invitation to the Madhes-based parties affiliated to the ‘Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha’ to join the government during a meeting at the UML Parliamentary Party Office in Singha Durbar on Monday. The alliance of Madhes-based reiterated its previous stance of not joining the government unless a new constitution was formed.

Saying that the new constitution could not be promulgated by January 22 if the national consensus was not forged, Chairman Oli invited Madhesi leaders to join the government in order to form a national consensus government.

Chairman of Sadvawana Party, Rajendra Mahato, turned down Oli’s proposal saying the parties aligned to the Madhesi front will not join the government. “We instantly rejected the UML’s proposal of national unity government,” he said talking to eKantipur, “We will not even utter the letter ‘G’ of government until a constitution is drafted.”

Mahato informed that, during the meeting CPN-UML requested them [Madhes-based parties] to show some flexibility regarding the key contentious issues of new constitution—federalism, forms of governance, judiciary and electoral system—for consensus.

“We are ready for necessary discussions on the contentious issues of constitution drafting,” Mahato said,” But the way ruling parties have been piling pressure for voting process with signature campaign by showing arrogance of numerical strength, these sorts of activities surely has disturbed the environment of consensus.”