NC, CPN-UML unwilling to change number of provinces, demarcation

Kathmandu, August 27

The four major parties today agreed to wait for the protesting parties to join the dialogue before taking any concrete decision regarding the demarcation of provinces.

However, sources claimed that Nepali Congress and CPN-UML leaders were stoically opposing any move to effect changes in the number of provinces and their demarcation, except making some changes in the districts that were split in the seven-province model.

According to Vice-chairman of Unified CPN-Maoist Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the top leaders of the four parties today agreed to wait for the protesting parties to join the dialogue until August 29, as the government had given them three days to respond to the invite for talks. He said the four parties were ready to wait for the agitators before taking any concrete decision.

Shrestha said through informal interaction with the agitating parties and the parties outside the CA, the four major parties concluded that the protesting parties had four major conditions -- stop the ongoing constitution drafting process, send the Nepali Army to the barracks, end suppression of peaceful agitation and the parties and a commitment to implement the past agreements with Madhesi agitators publicly.

“None of the four parties was ready to halt the constitution drafting process but they were for waiting the agitators and have also expressed willingness to discuss other demands,” Shrestha said.

A leader present in the meeting claimed that UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli rejected the proposal of MJF-Democratic Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar to increase the number of provinces to eight. “Oli told the meeting that the existing seven-province model should not be changed though the divided districts could be managed,” the leader told this daily.

Raj Kumar Lekhi, who is a leaders of the Tharu movement in Tharu-dominated districts of Tarai, said they would not join talks in haste. Talking over phone from Lahan today, Lekhi said they had some conditions for talks, including withdrawal of curfew, sending the Nepali Army to the barracks, releasing all arrested protesters, withdrawal of all fake cases filed against the protesters, treatment of injured protesters and commitment to fulfil their demands.

“We will discuss the government’s call only after receiving the government’s letter,” he said.

United Democratic Madhesi Front and the parties outside the CA, including Mohan Baidhya-led CPN-Maoist, have been demanding that the constitution-drafting process be halted for a dialogue. UDMF leader Upendra Yadav, talking to mediapersons, said sitting for talks with the government was meaningless, as the state had not yet implemented the past agreements signed with the officials.