“Going by the inter-party agreement today, the cabinet will withdraw its decision to legalize the land transactions carried out by the so-called people´s government,” said Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sher Bahadur Deuba after the three-party meeting at Gokarna Forest Resort on Wednesday. [break]
The opposition parties -- NC and UML -- have been disrupting the parliamentary proceedings over the cabinet decision and had declined during the Gokarna meeting to negotiate on issues of peace and constitution unless the decision was revoked.
The opposition leaders said the Maoist-led government agreed to rescind its decision under intense pressure, but added that they will first wait for the cabinet decision on Thursday and let parliament resume its normal business only if they find the decision satisfactory.
Though the Maoist leaders have not stated in unambiguous terms if the government would revoke the decision, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai´s aide Bishwadip Pandey told Republica that the cabinet decision would be acceptable to all the parties. “Things will be settled after the cabinet meeting tomorrow,” he said.
According to the leaders, Baidya faction leaders who were present at the meeting initially objected to the withdrawal of the cabinet decision but party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal intervened. “The stance of our party is to uphold the cabinet decision, but it is up to the prime minister to settle it.”
Maoist Secretary CP Gajurel said though his party still thinks the Bhattarai-led government was right in taking the decision on land transactions, the cabinet is scheduled to take another decision keeping in view continuous disruption of parliamentary proceedings and the staying of the decision by the Supreme Court.
Special Committee meeting today
Apart from the agreement on land transactions, the parties also agreed to hold a meeting of the Special Committee to settle the disputed issues of PLA integration and rehabilitation.
“We have agreed that the process of integration and voluntary retirement of the combatants should begin immediately. For that, the Special Committee meeting will be held on Thursday,” said UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Besides, the parties had also deliberated on the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) bill. As per the tentative agreement, the top leaders will dwell on the draft bill prepared by an inter-party taskforce in the CA and give it a final shape.
The leaders also briefly discussed the system of governance and for the first time, deliberated on the contentious issues of state restructuring. The leaders of the major parties had put forward their views on the issue, though they differed on the name, number and delineation of the federal provinces.
“We will begin the negotiations in earnest from today onwards,” said NC leader Ram Chandra Paudel.
Related news:
- Combatants´ paychecks not snatched: PLA chief
- SC stays govt decision on conflict-era land deal legalization
- House obstructed for four days in a row
- Undo land deal legalization for further talks: NC, UML
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