Cabinet nod to recruit 3,000 Madhesis in NA

KATHMANDU, Dec 21: The government has endorsed a policy paper to make the national army more inclusive by recruiting 3,000 Madhesi youths, including women and those from the indigenous, Dalit, Muslim and backward communities from across the Tarai region.



A four-hour-long cabinet meeting held in Singha Durbar on Tuesday evening took a decision to this effect. The ruling partners -- UCPN (Maoist) and United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) -- had agreed in principle to begin the process of recruiting Madhesi youths in the Nepal Army (NA) as per the four-point agreement signed between the Maoists and the Madhesi alliance on August 29. [break]



Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Narayankaji Shrestha, who is also the government spokesperson, told media persons that the government has agreed in principle to begin the process of recruiting 3,000 Madhesi youths in the NA.



Asked if the NA would only recruit Madhesi youths into the national army as per the policy paper, Shrestha said, “Dalits, indigenous, women, Muslims and youths from backward communities from Tarai-Madhes would also be accommodated.”

Currently, 3,000 positions are vacant in the 95,753-strong NA. The Maoist leadership was under intense pressure from the Madhesi alliance to begin the process of recruiting Madhesi youths in the NA.



The ruling parties had been negotiating for the last few weeks to forge consensus on the process of recruiting Madhesi youths in the NA.



Similarly, the cabinet meeting decided to register 57 vehicles used in Maoist cantonments in the name of Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction and 37 vehicles used by Maoist leaders in the name of the UCPN (Maoist).



Also, the cabinet promoted SSP Gopal Prasad Bhandari, Hemanta Malla Thakuri and Keshav Prasad Adhikari of Nepal Police to the post of DIG.



The cabinet meeting also decided to name various roads across the country. Lamahi-Kanchanpur road is named as Krishna Sen Ikshuk Marga, Rupani-Rajbiraj road is named as Gajendra Narayan Singh Marga, Nepalgunj-Bagauda road as Kamal Giri Marga, Bardibas-Jaleshwar road as Durgananda Jha Marga and Mirchaiya-Siraha road is named as Ramesh Mahato Marga.

The government has decided to send various acts to the bill committee for amendment in order to make public service more inclusive.

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