Kathmandu: With no end in sight to Nepal`s political troubles, President Ram Baran Yadav on Sunday met top political leaders and asked them to take steps to forge consensus for resolving the crisis over the constitution and fresh elections.
The meeting came as political crisis deepened in the country, with a deadline set by the Election Commission for the government to enact a constitutional amendment to enable the conducting of fresh elections expiring today.
Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala, Vice President Ramchandra Poudyal and senior leader of the party Sher Bahadur Deuba met President Yadav to ask him to intervene and take initiatives to end the political deadlock.
Senior Madhesi leader and president of Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum, Upendra Yadav also separately met the president.
"The President inquired the leaders how they are working to bail the country out from the current political crisis," president`s press adviser Rajendra Dahal said.
The President urged them to forge consensus for resolving the crisis, he said.
The Election Commission had asked the Government to formulate election-related regulations by July 22 if elections are to be held within the stipulated date of November 22.
The meeting between EC officials and top leaders of major political parties ended inconclusively today as the leaders remained divided over extension of the deadline set by the EC to remove legal and constitutional hurdles to facilitate conducting of the new elections.
Earlier, the EC had set today`s deadline for amending the electoral regulations and the interim constitution, saying it needs at least 120 days to prepare for the Constituent Assembly polls declared by the caretaker government.
PTI
