The two leaders had signed the secret deal prior to the prime ministerial election on February 3, which led the former to withdraw his candidacy to support the latter´s.[break[
The top leaders have agreed in the understanding to form a separate force comprising solely of Maoist combatants or by combining the combatants with existing security forces.
"Maoist combatants must be integrated into the existing security agencies. Formation of a separate force will not be acceptable to us," Mahendra Prasad Yadav, coordinator of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, told Republica. He termed the agreement between Khanal and Dahal a "conspiracy" and said such an understanding will not provide the country any headway. "Integration falls under the jurisdiction of the Special Committee and the task must follow the norms, procedures and laws," said Yadav, himself a member of the committee.
Madhesi People´s Rights Forum, Nepal co-chairman Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta said the proposal to form a separate force as stipulated by Khanal and Dahal will not be acceptable at any cost. The integration process, he said, calls for overall political consensus. "Any attempts by both chairmen to sign and forward the proposal to the Special Committee to rubber stamp it will prove to be a futile exercise," Gupta, a member in the committee, told Republica.
A separate force of politically motivated combatants is next to impossible, said Gupta and added, "There still exist differences among the members of Special Committee about the number of combatants to be integrated and modalities for integration," he added.
Jitendra Sonal, TMDP joint general secretary, said the understanding was against the spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Accord. Jitendra Dev, who represents MPRF-Democratic in the committee, said his party would take a stand on the issue after giving it a proper thought.
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