ITAHARI, FEBRUARY 22
Political parties visibly active in Province 1 are sharply divided over the name of the province. From five-party ruling coalition - CPN (Unified Socialist), Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre, People's Socialist Party, Federal Democratic Front - to opposition parties, including main opposition CPN-UML, there is lack of consensus on the name for the only unnamed province in Nepal.
In order to begin the process of reaching consensus on the name, Chief Minister of Province 1 Rajendra Rai called an all-party meeting today at the Chief Minister's Office, Biratnagar.
The meeting, however, did not yield any substantive results regarding naming the province that borders both India and China.
Meanwhile, Province 1 Committee of People's Socialist Party has floated the name of 'Kirat-Limbuwan-Madhes-Sherpalung' in a press release by the provincial Chair Prabin Chamling. The party has proposed the name on the basis of originality and historic and political background and identities of the province, it is said.
"The party is clear that the province's name should reflect its historic and cultural identities," the statement reads.
Major parties such as CPN- UML, Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre, CPN (Unified Socialist) have not officially proposed any name from their respective parties.
However, names that are doing the rounds are Koshi, Kirat, Limbuwan, Sagarmatha, Birat, Kochila, Bijayapur, among others.
When CPN-UML was at the helm of Province 1 government with two-thirds majority, two popular names doing the rounds in intra-party discussions were Koshi and Kirat.
The ruling coalition, commanding majority in the 92-member Provincial Assembly, has not come up with a common name. On the other hand, the main opposition CPN-UML has also not floated an official name for discussion.
''Once the ruling coalition proposes a name, we will either agree or suggest another name,'' remarked Buddhi Kumar Rajbhandari, the chief whip of CPN-UML.
The upcoming Provincial Assembly session will be held on February 27.
''Both ruling and opposition parties must not waste their five-year-long tenure without naming the Province," remarked Raju KC, the chair of Civil Society Itahari.
He added, ''We need the official name of our province before the next provincial election.''
A version of this article appears in the print on February 23 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
