KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Standing Committee on Wednesday decided to stick to party’s policy of carving out north-south provinces.

UML Secretary Gokarna Bista said a meeting of the SC decided that the party would seek to settle the boundaries of the provinces before the promulgation of the constitution but would oppose the move to delay the promulgation of the constitution in the name of delineating the boundaries of the provinces.

Bista said the party also decided to go for five to six states. “We are of the view that the promulgation of the constitution should not be prolonged just because there is no agreement on the boundaries of the provinces,” he added.

Bista said the Standing Committee also decided that in case there was no agreement on the boundaries of the provinces, parties should follow the 16-point pact, which states that the party would promulgate the constitution and boundaries of the eight provinces would be decided on the basis of the report to be submitted by a federal commission.

The Standing Committee also told party Chairman KP Sharma Oli that if he had to explore other alternatives to forge consensus with other parties, the matter should be debated again in the SC, according to Bista.

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