stress on amendment

KATHMANDU, May 23 - The three major Madhes-based Parties—Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF), Terai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) and Nepal Sadbhavana Party—Friday stressed on the need to make amendment to the interim constitution as per the agreement reached in the past to declare regions including Madhes autonomous.
A meeting of the three parties held at TMDP’s central office in Nayabazaar this morning reached an understanding to hold a common stance to include the points of agreement singed with the government in February while making the statute amendment in a package.

An agreement signed between the government and the United Democratic Madhesi Front, a joint front of the three parties, On Feb 28 stated that Nepal will be a federal democratic republican state complying with the demands of regional autonomy and a federal system of governance including an autonomous Madhes Pradesh.

The first ever meeting of the three Madhesi parties after launching an indefinite strike for over two weeks in Terai (southern plains) also reached an agreement to present the Madhes issues in the Constituent Assembly (CA) in an integrated manner, TMDP leader Hirdayesh Tripathi said.

The Madhesi parties also decided to make the constitutional provision so as to form or dismiss the government with a simple majority and to end the concept of the Seven Party alliance (SPA) mentioned in the interim constitution.

Similarly, the three parties reached a consensus to create a position of an interim head of state after the implementation of republic.

Meanwhile, the central committee meeting of the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) which kicked off yesterday, to make preparations for the CA meeting and to formulate its future strategies is continuing today.

The meeting underway at MPRF central office at Sankhamul in the Capital is scheduled to discuss the statute of parliamentary party.