"There is no point agreeing to a proposal that is against the spirit of the seven-point peace deal," Bhim Rawal, a special committee member representing the UML, told Republica.[break]
According to him, the proposal is no different from the one presented by Nepal Army (NA) chief Chhatraman Singh Gurung to the prime minister and which was "leaked" to media.
"We were surprised that the prime minister came up with the same proposal prepared by the army, claming it was his own. We have serious objections" said Rawal.
The seven-point deal only states that a maximum of 6,500 will be integrated into the NA directorate, but the prime minister´s proposal, according to members, only talks about the structure of the directorate without saying anything about how many combatants will meet the NA recruitment criteria and make it to the directorate.
"It is like baptizing a baby even before it is born," said Rawal, adding that the prime minister had disappointed the people.
The proposal also states that the NA personnel will be promoted one level immediately after they join the directorate, but the NC and UML have opposed this provision.
"The seven-point deal doesn´t have any provision for promoting NA personnel immediately after they join the directorate," said Ram Sharan Mahat, Special Committee member from the NC.
They accused the prime minister of planning to create a separate institution. "The combatants are meant to be integrated into the NA. It is not like creating a separate institution. The seven-point deal must be followed during the entire process," said Rawal.
The next meeting will be held on Friday.
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