President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, expressing grave concern over the current political situation of the country, has asked the major political forces of the country to forge consensus and come up with a new constitution within the May 27 deadline. At a meeting and discussion with the top brass of the four major political forces of the country, namely, the UCPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Madhesi Front in his office the other day, President Dr. Yadav said that there was no alternative to promulgating the new constitution within the stipulated deadline to prevent the country from sliding into a political and constitution crisis. President Yadav’s advice must be taken seriously as unity among the political parties is a must to complete the ongoing political process.

The country at present is in a difficult situation. We have less than a week’s time to promulgate the new constitution. But the parties have not yet resolved the issue concerning the federal model and the number of federal provinces. This has made the constitution writing process uncertain. Thus, unity and collaboration among the political parties, in general, and three major political forces, in particular, are a must to avoid uncertainty, chaos and crisis. The political forces, therefore, must work together and make genuine contribution to accomplishing the two national tasks of writing the constitution and concluding the ongoing peace process. In the present difficult juncture of history, all the political forces and people, irrespective of their political ideologies, must demonstrate maximum flexibility for national unity, consensus and the constitution.

It is high time the political parties must translate their rhetoric of unity and consensus into practice. As the country is in a difficult juncture, what is needed is action that will bring about broader national consensus and resolve the political deadlock facing the country. Although the political parties and leaders have been talking of national consensus, their arrogance and partisan agenda have already delayed many works that are associated with constitution writing and the peace process. If the major political parties continue to pursue their partisan arrogance, setting aside the national need and interest, it would be impossible to resolve the contentious issues, which would make it impossible to finish writing the constitution within this short period. Against this background, the political parties need to shun their partisan agenda and work sincerely to arrive at a middle ground so that the constitution can be promulgated by May 27. This would alone pave the way for the conclusion of the peace process and establish permanent and sustainable peace in the country.