BANKE, DEC 02 - Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala ruled out meeting with Maoist leaders in the near future.
Koirala made this remark while soliciting suggestions from his party cadres in Nepalgunj regarding modalities of the joint movement to be launched soon against regression.
Koirala’s reaction comes within 24 hours after Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai expressed his desire of meeting with Congress leaders.
"There is no immediate possibility of meeting with them. I will not go there (India) to meet with them, nor will they come here (Nepal)," said Koirala, who arrived here after completing his visit to Mahendranagar. But he did not divulge details why he was uninterested in meeting with the Maoist leaders.
Talking to reporters at the Ranjha Airport before his departure to the capital, Koirala claimed that the forthcoming movement would be a success. He added that a taskforce of the five agitating parties would come up with modalities of the "decisive movement".
When asked to comment on the alleged differences between CPN-UML and his party after the latter’s General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal’s parleys with Maoist top brass in Lucknow, India, Koirala said "It was a rumour and baseless". "Nobody will create any obstruction in our planned movement," he said.
When further asked whether his party had any grudge if Nepali Congress (Democratic), a breakaway faction of the Nepali Congress, wanted to join the movement, Koirala said, "We have no problem if they want to join us in the movement. . It is up to them whether or not to take part in the movement."
Koirala also expressed his anger over the media reports that foreign diplomat in Nepal tendered apology with him after the king refrained from reconciling with the agitating parties despite the diplomatic initiatives to gap differences with the palace and the forces abiding by the Constitution. "The diplomats had only said that the king had no positive attitudes towards the parties," Koirala added.Posted on: 2003-12-01 10:46

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