As per its decision on January 1, the Special Committee secretariat officials should have reached the cantonments by Sunday, but no preparations have been made in this regard by Saturday evening.[break]
“Maoists have stalled the process. We have taken the issue very seriously. The way the Maoists are behaving will not lead to the framing of a new constitution,” said Nepali Congress (NC) leader Minendra Rijal who is also a member of the Special Committee.
The process hit a roadblock due to the UCPN (Maoist) stance. The Maoists have warned that they would halt the process of vacating the cantonments if other political parties do not agree on directly elected presidential system in the new constitution, while the NC is averse to the system and has batted for parliamentary system.
The secretariat was supposed to dispatch 91 staff in seven teams of 13 members, one to each of the main cantonments before the deadline set by the Special Committee, while the ministry of finance has not released Rs 2 billion to fund voluntary retirement.
“No preparations have been made to advance the integration process due to the Maoist demand,” said UML leader Bhim Rawal who is also a member of the Special Committee.
The prime minister´s office has, however, stated that the process will move ahead as per the agreement in the Special Committee.
“Things will be settled soon, though the process will see some delays. There is no alternative to concluding the integration process,” said Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai´s Personal Secretary Ganga Shrestha.
He also said that the issue of system of governance has been blown out of proportion. “But everything will be on track soon.”
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