Kathmandu, November 24

Chairman of the High-level Political Coordination Committee of the ruling coalition and Chairman of Unified CPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal today held talks with four agitating Madhesi leaders and agreed to resolve the problem in a package.

According to Dahal’s Personal Secretary Chudamani Khadka, Dahal held three-hour long talks with four major leaders of the agitating United Democratic Madhesi Front at an undisclosed location today. This is Dahal’s second attempt to resolve the crisis.

Khadka said the dialogue remained positive and the agitating Madhesi leaders were told that the package would address their major concern about demarcation of provincial boundaries.

He said Dahal would talk to the ruling CPN-UML top leaders and the top leaders of the main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, about ways to resolve the crisis, following which a tripartite meeting of ruling coalition, agitating parties and main opposition party would take the final decision to resolve the crisis.

The agitating Madhesi leaders, including Chairman of Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal Upendra Yadav, Chairman of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party Mahantha Thakur, Co-Chairman of Sadbhawana Party Laxman Lal Karna and Chairman of Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party Mahendra Raya Yadav were present in the informal meeting with Dahal held this afternoon.

Karna said no important development occurred in the meeting.

Khadka said Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, on behalf of the ruling coalition, and NC would hold separate talks with the agitating parties and try to find a middle path to fulfill their demands.

Dahal’s recent attempt to resolve the crisis through ‘decisive talks’ had failed due to lack of preparation and proper coordination among the major parties.

However, given the escalating multi-dimensional crises in the country Dahal has been trying to convince reluctant NC and UML to address the demands of the agitating parties.

Meanwhile, Upendra Yadav told a gathering at Reporters Club today that referendum on the boundaries of five disputed districts would provide no solution.

He said even the proposed amendment in the new constitution as registered by previous NC-led government was not sufficient to address the concerns of agitating forces.

He said peaceful and non-violent non-cooperation movement would continue until their demands were met.

Since the constitution amendment bill registered by the NC-led government did not address all the concerns of the Madhes, it cannot be accepted at any cost, he said. “Madhes movement cannot be addressed until there is a package deal,” he said, adding that talks were impossible without a common view of the parties on their demands.