Top UML, Maoist leaders hold talks

Kathmandu, June 15 : Top leaders of Nepal's two largest communist parties- Maoists and the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) - held talks this morning.

In what they called as an attempt to end the political deadlock over power-sharing, the Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' met with UML general secretary Jhalnath Khanal.

According to Nepalnews, the meeting, which took place in Nayabazar residence of Prachanda, was participated by UML leader Amrit Bohara and Maoist leaders Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal and Mohan Baidya Kiran.

According to Bohara, the UML has advised the Maoists to take serious initiatives to forge understanding among the major parties and form new government.

As the largest party, it is the responsibility of the Maoists to take such initiative, Bohara said.

The major parties- Maoists, UML and Nepali Congress (NC)- are locked in differences on the issue of who gets to become the first president of republic Nepal; how the Maoist combatants should be integrated, rehabilitated; and other issues related with implementation of peace accord.

Various rounds of meeting among the leaders of the three parties have failed to yield any fruit till date. Due to the political deadlock, the meeting of the Constituent Assembly, too, has been affected.

ANI