Govt, Madhes parties at cross purposes over talks

KATHMANDU, Oct 20: Both the government and the agitating parties are under pressure from the general public to settle their disputes through dialogue and bring an end to the general strikes and obstructions at the border checkpoints in view of the festive season. However, both sides are engaged only in formal correspondence and haven't sat down for result-oriented talks.

The newly elected prime minister on Thursday urged the agitating parties to end their protests and join political negotiations. For its part, the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), the alliance of four agitating Madhes-based parties, in its reply on Sunday urged the government to come up with concrete proposals that will address their demands, mainly the demands concerning provincial delineations.It is obvious that both sides have agreed in principle that the current crisis should be settled through dialogue and amendments to the newly promulgated constitution. However, they are both dragging their feet when it comes to dialogue.

"The agitating Madhes-based parties do not all share the same point of view. Some of them are ready to end the protests once the process of constitutional amendments begins to address their three major concerns, while others are still for continuing with the protests," opined advocate Tikaram Bhattarai, the vice-chairman of Nepal Bar Association.

"Meanwhile, India has imposed a blockade in support of the protests. In this context, the government is of a mind to settle issues with India first since the parties in government are thinking what if India is not satisfied with any agreement reached with the agitators," Bhattarai added.

The Madhes-based parties are mainly concerned about the issues of delimiting electoral constituencies on the basis of population, ensuring proportional representation and changing the provincial delineations in the new constitution. The previous government led by Sushil Koirala had registered an amendment bill in parliament addressing the first two issues.

"The dispute over provincial delineations could have been solved through talks. However, quite apart from their major agenda, the Madhes-based parties appear to be rather interested in key state positions and want to deal with everything collectively. In the same manner, the ruling coalition is also trying to bargain. Some in the government even want the agitating parties to remain out of parliament until the election of the new president," said Advocate Sunil Kumar Pokharel, general secretary of NBA.

"The Madhes-based parties are looking for a space in future politics and want to maintain the obtaining mood in Madhes until the next election. Similarly, the major political parties are afraid that their vote bank in the hills could be damaged if they negotiate with the Madhes-based parties," Pokharel added.

However, advocate and Madhes-activist Deependra Jha opined that the issue of elections to key state positions is only secondary. For him, the stand-off between the major parties and Madhes-based parties over provincial delineations is the main reason behind the delay.

"The major parties and the government are in no mood to change the provincial delineations," said Jha.

"On the other hand, Madhes-based parties are thinking that all their issues, except provincial delineation, will be addressed through constitutional amendments. They are not inclined to join talks unless they are given strong hints that the delineations will be revised," Jha added.

If their analyses are to be believed, the major parties and the Madhes-based will be unable to sit for talks before or during Dashain and more likely until the election of the president.

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