Kathmandu: In his last days, former Nepalese
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was striving hard to
bring about a consensus on the country`s new Constitution,
which has been delayed due to political rifts.
"A day before he died, the ailing Koirala had told Prime
Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to bring everybody together and
finalise the constitution," his daughter Sujata Koirala, the
country`s Deputy Prime Minister said.
Her comments come in the backdrop of President Ram Baran
Yadav`s remarks that the new Constitution may not be drafted
within the stipulated time frame of May 28.
In an interview at her residence where she is
mourning her father`s death, Sujata appealed to all political
parties, including the Maoists, to forge cooperation.
"We have to work together and build consensus to fulfill
his dream," she said.
"A big vacuum has been created due to the demise of my
father Girija Babu, and we should fill it through cooperation,
consensus and collaboration," she said.
Sujata said three days before his demise, Koirala had
told Maoist chief Prachanda and senior leader Baburam
Bhattarai to behave like a "responsible political party" and
to forge cooperation in order to complete the peace process.
"He had also told Prachanda not to make unreasonable
remarks that create problems and to cooperate with other
political parties to write the constitution," she said.
"My father is no more with us, but I feel that he rests
in the heart of every Nepali... He didn`t know how popular he
was, there was a human sea to pay tribute to him," she said
recalling that thousands of people had turned up to pay their
last respects on his funeral procession.
Sujata said in the absence of the patriarch-like figure,
the political parties in the country will have to behave
responsibly.
"Now Girija Babu is not there, as he used to take all
blames like a guardian whenever some one commits mistake, but
now everybody should be responsible if things go wrong, she
pointed out," she said.
She particularly asked the Maoists to behave like a
"responsible political party" to resolve the political crisis.
"We all would suffer, including the Maoists, if the
constitution is not written within the stipulated time frame,"
she said.
The Deputy Premier also sought help from India in
generating employment, fighting poverty, in health, education,
and rebuilding infrastructure.
She also advocated a federal structure for the country
"that would unite the country, not the one that divides".
PTI
