DHAKA: Scuffles broke out in Nepal’s parliament and police arrested protesters in the capital as tensions rose before a deadline to draft a new national constitution.

Opposition lawmakers threw chairs and microphones and attacked the parliamentary speaker early on Tuesday.

The Maoist opposition accused the ruling coalition of trying to push through their proposals without consensus, reports the BBC.

Nepal’s leaders have set 22 January as a deadline for the draft constitution.

The country’s political parties have been trying to reach agreement on a new constitution since the former kingdom’s first Constituent Assembly was elected in 2008. Deadlines have repeatedly been missed.

The 2008 elections followed a peace deal with Maoist rebels who had fought a decade-long civil war in which more than 12,000 people died.

The Maoist lawmakers argue that discussions on the constitution should continue until an agreement is reached even if that means missing another deadline.

But the ruling coalition has the support of two-thirds of the members in the 605-member assembly and could push through the new constitution without the support of the Maoists.

The Maoist-led opposition called a nationwide general strike in an effort to protest at the government’s decision.

BDST: 1954 HRS, JAN 20, 2015