Valley
Dahal requests Oli to call trilateral meeting
UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has requested Prime Minister KP Oli to call a trilateral meeting to resolve the ongoing Tarai crisis.UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has requested Prime Minister KP Oli to call a trilateral meeting to resolve the ongoing Tarai crisis.
During a two-hour meeting, Dahal, who also heads the High-Level Political Committee formed to assist the government to deal with political agenda, recommended that Oli call a meeting of the government, main opposition Nepali Congress and agitating Madhes-base parties.
In response, PM Oli said he would speak with the main opposition NC before calling such a meeting.
“The prime minister has taken the proposal to call a trilateral meeting positively and will call the meeting as soon as possible,” Choodamani Khadka, personal secretary of UCPN (M) Chairman Dahal, said after the meeting.
Dahal was of the view that Oli, as the head of the government, should call a trilateral meeting at the earliest, as any delay could further complicate the matter. “Only national unity can defeat existing crisis and we will achieve such unity only if all forces-government, main opposition and agitating parties-stand together,” said Dahal.
In response, PM Oli assured Dahal that he would call such a meeting at the earliest.
“Let me speak with the Congress party and fix a date for the meeting,” said PM Oli.
Before meeting PM Oli, Maoist Chairman Dahal had met NC President Sushil Koirala at the latter’s residence. During the meeting, Dahal reiterated his proposal that a package deal must be worked out on all issues, including demarcation, to resolve the ongoing political standoff.
“Let’s amend the constitution and resolve the disputes related to federalism simultaneously. Otherwise, the crisis will continue.” Dahal is learnt to have told NC President Koirala.
Koirala, however, was adamant on his previous position of endorsing the amendment registered by his government first, according to Maoist
leaders.
“Let’s first endorse the constitution amendment proposals that were tabled [by the NC-led government] and then we can decide on issues related to federalism later,” Khadka quoted Koirala as telling Dahal.