The MPRF has accused the government of failing to implement past agreements. “The forum [MPRF] is preparing to launch fresh protests. A team has been formed under my chair to hold talks with them,” Chemjong told reporters in Biratnagar on Saturday evening. [break]
The talks team comprises Minister for Culture and Constituent Assembly and Federal Affairs Dr Minendra Rijal and Law Minister Prem Bahadur Singh.
“The talks team was formed day before yesterday [Thursday],” Chemjong said. “We are holding consultation with friends of forum [MPRF]. We will soon hold talks with them.”
Stating that no one would benefit by launching protests at the time of drafting the new constitution,” he said, “I therefore urged them to come forward for negotiations.”
Minister Chemjong said the government also gave full shape to the team formed to hold talks with armed groups in the Tarai. The team under Chemjong´s chairmanship comprises Constituent Assembly and Federal Affairs Dr Minendra Rijal and Minister for Industry Mahendra Roy.
“We will soon start holding talks with them again,” he said. “The armed groups should also fully abide by the agreements reached with the government.”
MPRF warns of protests
The Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) on Saturday took strong exception to the federal model proposed by Constituent Assembly (CA) Sub-Committee formed under the State Restructuring Committee. The party has also warned of protests against the model.
The party, which has been advocating single autonomous Madhes state, said that the model proposed by the sub committee would disintegrate Madhes.
Organizing a press conference at the party´s parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar, party Chairman Upendra Yadav accused the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the UCPN (Maoists) of preparing the preliminary draft of the federal model by neglecting agreements reached with them in the past. “The parties have tried to render the Constituent Assembly meaningless,” he said.
Yadav said that the model is against the spirit and demand of the Madhesi people. “There has been an indirect effort to establish unitary system of governance in the country,” he said. “There is no alternative to protests now.”
Yadav said that his party would launch fresh protests after holding talks with Madhes-based and other political parties.
MPRF Co-Chairman J P Gupta accused the political parties of trying to internally colonize Madhes yet again. “The government and other political parties want to retain their lost influence by dividing Madhes,” he claimed.
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