The Fiji interim government has accused the Constitution Commission chair Professor Yash Ghai of trying to hijack the Constituent Assembly process.
Professor Ghai said earlier the regime lost enthusiasm for the constitution-making body after dropping plans for a public discussion of the draft constitution.
Commodore Bainimarama also criticised the Commission for engaging a prominent lawyer and deposed Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi as a consultant.
The Commodore says he is not harassing Professor Ghai, but says in a statement that there will be ample scope for public discussion once the Constituent Assembly starts its deliberations.
He says Professor Ghai needs to comprehend that his function is to produce a Constitution and submit it to the President and that is where his job ends.
The interim Prime Minister says Professor Ghai seemed not to grasp the interim government's concerns about the Commission's decision to appoint Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi as a consultant.
He says Ratu Joni was not impartial because he was part of a delegation that called for a Christian state, which contravenes one of the regime's non-negotiable principles.
