Ram Chandra Poudel, Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, has accused that demands raised for outright declaration of republic and/or holding referendum were being raised to overshadow the Constituent Assembly (CA).

At a time when the Maoists have been pressing for outright declaration of republic through the parliament and the UML has been stressing on holding referendum, Poudel has said that no one should try to undermine the importance of CA to build a new Nepal.

Speaking at a press meet in Pokhara, Thursday, Poudel said that the eight parties must meet soon to fix fresh CA date.

A day before, Poudel had said that he felt the eight parties lacked self confidence to announce fresh date for the elections. Poudel is the senior most minister in the current cabinet after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

His comments have come in the wake of reports that the UML and Maoists were ready to support each other’s demands. While the UML has said that it will have no objection if republic is declared outright through parliament, the Maoists have said they consider referendum as a viable alternative.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Speaker of the legislative parliament Subas Nemwang said that the House was ready to declare the country a republic within minutes if the eight parties make the decision to do so. “I am ready to declare republic from the Speaker’s rostrum a minute after the responsible parties make the decision,” Nemwang said at a function organised to mark the 8 th memorial anniversary of late Manmohan Adhikary.