Kathmandu, July 6:

Central leader of the CPN-Maoist Top Bahadur Rayamajhi today reiterated that his party will neither accept Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala nor UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as the first president of the country.

Addressing a programme organised here at the Reporters’ Club, Rayamajhi said people have mandated the CPN-Maoist to head the government. The demand raised by the Madhes-based parties is inappropriate, as Madhes does not exist in the country, he added.

Vice-president of the Nepali Congress Gopal Man Shrestha said the NC is against ‘One Madhes, One Pradesh’ demand. “NC president Girija Prasad Koirala is the most deserving candidate for the post of president, he said, adding, “However, the NC can let the CPN-Maoist to form a single-party government.” CPN-UML leader Bishnu Poudel said the move of the Madhesi parties is ill-intended and it can lead the country towards disintegration. “Dividing the country in the name of Madhesis and Pahades is to disintegrate the country.”

However, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supply Shyam Sundar Gupta said the Madhesi parties are only fighting to get the agreements they signed with the government before the CA polls implemented.

General secretary of the CPN-ML CP Mainali said that as the previous agreement between the Madhesi parties and the government was illegitimate, Madeshi lawmakers should not disrupt the meetings of the Constituent Assembly.

General secretary of the Tharu Kalyankari Sabha Rajkumar Lekhi also said that Madhes does not exist. “Declaring Madhes as the single state would be against the sentiment of people of Tarai,” he added.

One Madhes demand flayed:

KATHMANDU: The Nepa Rastriya Party on Sunday expressed dismay at the Madhesi parties’ idea of a single state. In a press statement, the NRP said the demand for a single state would eclipse the demands of other indigenous people. “The NRP supports other demands put forth by the Madhesi parties, but the idea of a single state is unacceptable,” read the press release. The party also demanded that the government look into the murder of Mahottari businessman Bir Bahadur Shrestha and provide compensation to his family. — HNS