President, top leaders discuss contemporary issues

Kathmandu / Aug. 19: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has drawn the attention of senior leaders of major three parties— Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN Maoist Centre on various contemporary issues including flooding, inundation and landslide witnessed in various parts of the country and the constitution amendment bill registered in the parliament and foreign policy.

At a meeting with the senior leaders at her official residence at Sheetal Niwas, President Bhandari on Saturday urged them to give top priority to the ongoing rescue relief and rehabilitation efforts in the disaster-hit areas and adopt precautionary measures to check the spread of epidemic there.

According to NC senior leader Ramchandra Poudel, who was present in the meeting, the President urged the leaders to adopt effective measures to control such disasters with short-term, mid-term and long-term plans.

In the meeting, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba informed the President that the government was committed to delivering the relief assistance to the survivors and was adopting measures to search for those still missing in the disaster.

Similarly, the leaders jointly briefed the President that they were together to tackle the disaster and to create environment conducive for upcoming local poll scheduled for September 18 in Province 2.

NC President and Prime Minister Deuba, senior leader Poudel, CPN-MC Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha, CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli and Vice-Chair Bamdev Gautam were present in the discussion.

The President, in the meeting, suggested the senior leaders to come up with a common foreign policy as a change in the policy along with a change in the government was not in the interest of the nation, informed CPN-MC leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

Shrestha further added that the President urged the leaders to seek through friendly diplomatic channel, a solution to the problem of inundation that overwhelms Nepal’s southern territory every year.

In the same meeting, the President also urged the political parties to come to a consensus on the matter of amendment to the new constitution, said UML Vice-Chair Bamdev Gautam. Gautam, however, informed that the ruling parties had not approached the UML for a dialogue to forge a consensus on the matter. RSS