Nepal’s agitating parties submit 5-point agenda to government

Kathmandu: Nepal’s 33 agitating political parties on Thursday submitted a five-point agenda to the government and asked it to create an environment in which all parties could take ownership of the new Constitution.
The meeting between the two sides failed to take any concrete decision regarding the ongoing political crisis. However, a negotiator from the protesting bloc, Nepal Samata Party Secretary Bikram Kunwar, said the talks were positive and the protesters were hopeful that the government would soon fulfill their demands.
Madhesi parties and various ethnic groups have launched agitation for the past several months demanding re-demarcation of the provincial boundary and more rights and representatives for the Madhesis and other ethnic minority groups.
Kunwar said the agitators urged the government to create an environment in which all parties could take ownership of the new Constitution. The alliance submitted a five-point memorandum to the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led team. It demanded that the government form a powerful commission to address various problems facing underprivileged, peasants, labourers, unemployed and landless people among others.
Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar said the government would try to address the protesters’ concerns through talks. Besides Gachhadar another Deputy Prime Minister Bhim Rawal, Home Affairs Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet and Minister for Law and Justice Agni Prasad Kharel were also present during the meeting.
Former Prime Minister and senior leader of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal and general secretary of the party Ishwor Pokharel also attended the meeting. Meanwhile, the main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) obstructed the Parliament meeting today.
The party had decided to obstruct the House proceedings protesting the government’s inefficiency and failure to address the concerns of the earthquake victims.
Addressing the meeting, NC leader Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government had failed to distribute relief to the earthquake victims and expedite reconstruction works.
He said that his party would not let the House proceed with its business unless the government addressed the concerns of the quake victims. The Parliament session was adjourned until on Friday. (PTI)