Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai Wednesday consulted with former attorney generals (AGs) on constitutional and legal provisions in the context of dissolution of the CA and lately developed political situation.

During the joint consultation held at the Prime Minister’s office in Singha Durbar, most of the former AGs suggested that all the political parties should go for election taking the government’s announcement positively.

Saying that the government was compelled to announce the election for Nov 22 at the last hour when the CA was automatically dissolved as per the Supreme Court verdict, the Prime Minister sought opinions of the legal experts on legal and constitutional provisions for such a situation and also on statement issued on Tuesday by the President.

Sarvagya Ratna Tuladhar, former attorney general and senior advocate, informed that the almost all the former AGs were of the opinion that the government’s decision to go to fresh mandate of the people when the CA got dissolved was positive. "What was the alternative way than to choose to election as per the verdict of the Supreme Court?" Tuladhar questioned.

He said that there was no meaning in issuing the statement by the President on the issue that was provisioned in the constitution. "The issue that the membership of the parliament of the Prime Minister has been automatically ended is in the constitution and it is also stated in the constitution that the present Council of Ministers works until the other is formed," he said.

Saying that attempts were made again to draw the President into unnecessary controversy, the former AG suggested that the President and the Prime Minister should work together to find a way out to the nation by holding a new CA election.

Tuladhar said that the AGs suggested Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai that the present government had the constitutional basis to hold the election.

"The present government which announced the polls should be given a shape of national consensus government and the election should be held. The present government should introduce ordinance and the President should issue the ordinance for the sake of necessary laws for election," he said, adding, "Even in the past the government led by a

caretaker PM or interim government had held the election."

Tuladhar argued that it would be still more unconstitutional to seek alternative to the

present government when nobody was the Member of Parliament. "What is the basis for a consensus government when people talk about that but unwilling to join the present one. It is meaningless to oppose for the sake of opposition."

Another former AG Laxmi Bahadur Nirala said that they suggested that it would not be against the constitution if the state was run on the basis of agreement. He said that legal hurdles due to lack of election laws could also be solved through consensus.

"The President can amend different legal provisions on the recommendation of the Cabinet. Even the provision of by-election can be taken as a basis to move forward," he said, adding, "However the President should remove all the hurdles as per the article 158 of the constitution."

Besides Tuladhar and Nirala, former AGs such as Raghav Lal Baidhya, Mahadev Yadav, Prem Bahadur Bista, Krishna Ram Shrestha, Yuba Raja Sangraula and Badri Bahadur Karki were present in the consultation. Attorney General Mukti Pradhan was also present in the consultation.