“Do not worry. No agreement has been reached on 11 provinces as you have been hearing in public," a Madhesi leader quoted Dahal as saying in a meeting with them on Friday. [break]
Madhesi lawmakers and leaders urged Dahal not to implement the agreement reached among major political parties on Tuesday to divide the country into 11 provinces.
"Ultimately, there will be an agreement either on 14 or 10 provinces," the leader quoted Dahal as saying. “Rest assured there will be only two states in Madhes."
Dahal´s backtracking comes at a time when Madhesi parties have intensified their protests against the agreement. The Madhesi parties have opposed dividing Madhesi into three provinces and have demanded that there should be only one state along the southern plain bordering India.
According to Ram Kumar Yadav, the Madhesi leaders told Dahal that three states in Tarai is unacceptable to them and urged him not to carve out a separate state comprising Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts.
“Kochila lies in Madhes. We asked the chairman why Kochila has been kept in a separate state?" Yadav, who is close to the Dahal faction in the Maoist party, said.
Party central committee members Ram Rijhan Yadav, Hakikullaha Khan, Ram Kumar Sharma, Madhes in-charge Giriraj Mani Pokharel, Bishwanath Sah and Anjana Bishankhe were present in the meeting.
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