Online Khabar

Kathmandu, October 6. The first round of formal talks between the three major parties and the United Democratic Madheshi Front has ended without discussing political matters.

The two sides did not even exchange political agendas during today’s three-hour talks that took place at the State Affairs Committee in Singha Durbar.

The UDMF has given the government 24 hours to create a conducive environment for talks.

Furthermore, it has told the government not to come up with a proposal on assigning the task of province delineation to a federal commission.

At the meeting, UDMF had expressed dissatisfaction with the three parties, pointing that the government had not yet created a conducive environment for talks. Tarai-Madhesh Democratic Party leader and negotiator Sarbendra Nath Shukla said they urged the government to normalise the situation in the Tarai by implementing its decisions and taking other relevant steps.

• The three parties and UDMF did not even exchange political agendas
• UDMF gave government 24 hours to create an environment for talks
• It told the government not to come up with a proposal on assigning the task of province delineation to a federal commission.

We did not enter the political agendas today, Shukla said. “The government has not taken steps that we recommended to bring calm to the Tarai. At Bir Hospital, injured — those injured during the Madhesh movement — have been lying untreated for want of medical expenses. The government has not implemented its decision to provide treatment to the injured.”

UDMF said its demands, including declaration of those, who died during the Madhesh movement, as martyrs, remain unimplemented. It has given the government 24 hours to implement decisions relevant to Madhesh and take other steps within 24 hours for the creation of an environment for talks.

UDMF negotiators said their major reservation is over province delineation, according to the source. They rejected outright the proposal to form a commission for the delineation of provinces.

“At the meeting, the three parties tried to raise theoretical issues. They had not made adequate preparations,” said another UDMF negotiator Laxman Lal Karna.

The UDMF said it will propose formation of two provinces in the plains as the bottomline. Member of the three-party talks team and Forest Minister Mahesh Acharya told mediapersons talks slated for Wednesday will discuss political agendas. Talks have begun and we will arrive at a conclusion soon, he said.

Karna said they can sort out political issues in a single day once the government implements decisions aimed at bringing normalcy to Tarai.

Minister Acharya, CPN-UML Chief Whip Agni Kharel and UCPN-Maoist Narayan Kaji Shrestha had represented the three parties at the meeting. From the UDMF, Shukla, Lal Babu Raut, Karna and Ram Naresh Ray had attended it.