Nepal's main opposition party today asked the government to initiate talks on Constitutional amendment to settle the contentious issues raised by the Indian-origin Madhesi people who have blocked all transit points of the land-locked country with India in protest.
Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition party in the parliament, made the suggestion during a meeting of the four main political parties including the ruling coalition, who met today and discussed the continued agitation by the Madhesi people.
The meeting came just a day after the protesters torched an ambulance and a truck carrying medicines worth over Rs two million imported from India.
During the meeting, NC leaders asked the ruling coalition of CPN-UML, Unified CPN-Maoist, Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum - Democratic, to begin discussions on the amendment bill and the bill on National Reconstruction Authority registered by the party in the Parliament to address the issues raised by the Madhesi parties.
The amendment bill include provisions such as proportionate representation of the Madhesis in government mechanisms and allocation of seats in the Parliament based on population, said Nepali Congress general secretary Prakash Man Singh, who was also present in the meeting.
He said a common view of the ruling and opposition parties should be forged as regards to the demarcation of the boundaries of the federal provinces, a key demand of the agitating Madhesi groups.
UCPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda, senior leader of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal, Nepali Congress Vice-president Ramchandra Poudyal, and Deputy Prime Minister and president of Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum Democratic Bijaa Gachhadar were also present at the meeting.
Singh said that the next Parliament session slated to begin tomorrow should discuss the amendment bill so that it could be endorsed with the support of both opposition and ruling parties.
The bill requires two third majority votes in the legislature and hence cross-party support is necessary for the contentious bill.
Speaking at a programme here today, Singh also said the NC would begin meaningful talks with the government and the agitating groups to end the ongoing crisis.
Singh informed that the NC is holding a meeting of Madhesi leaders belonging to the party tomorrow to assess the situation in the southern plains of Nepal.
Madhesis, Indian-origin inhabitants of Nepal's Terai region, are protesting against division of their ancestral homeland into seven provinces in the new Constitution.
More than 40 people have died in the violent agitation that has also overwhelmed Indo-Nepal ties as transit of goods and fuel to the Himalayan nation has been badly affected.
The agitation by Madhesi groups has paralysed normal life across Nepal while the dearth of medicines has put lives of patients at stake.
