An informal meeting of Sahayog Sampadan Samiti, UDMF´s advisory body, on Saturday termed the statements of the defense minister and defense secretary as against the spirit of the four-point deal reached between the Madhesi alliance and UCPN (Maoist) on August 29. [break]
“We expressed our serious concerns over the statements and want our leaders to clarify the matter,” said Atmaram Sah, a Samiti member, adding, “This move has led us to suspect that the Madhesi leaders have compromised on the Madhesi cause.”
Addressing a press conference Friday, Defense Secretary Nabin Kumar Ghimire had said that the ministry would allot Madhesis 45 percent of the upcoming openings under the reserved quota as per the existing norms of NA.
Earlier, Government spokesman and Foreign Minister Narayankaji Shrestha had said the government had decided to fill 3,000 vacant Nepal Army positions with Madhesi youths including Madhesi Dalits, Janajati, women and Muslims.
Sah, who is also the general secretary of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Republican (MPRF-R), said they would take up the issue with Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, who is also defense minister, after the latter´s visit to China. Gachchhadar is leaving for China Sunday.
Sah informed that a meeting of the Samiti will take a formal decision Tuesday regarding the Madhesi recruitment issue. “Why did we need to sign a separate agreement with the Maoists, if the national army was supposed to begin new recruitment as per the existing NA rules?” he questioned.
Another member of the Samiti, Brikheshchandra Lal, who is vice-chairman of Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), questioned the rationale of UDMF´s presence in the government.
“What is the meaning of remaining in the government, if the Madhesi alliance cannot pressure the government to implement the four-point deal?” argued Lal.
Gupta says policy paper as per the government decision
Communications Minister J P Gupta has defended the policy paper on new recruitment in the Nepal Army (NA) made public Friday by the Defense Ministry and said the government´s move is aimed at making the national army more inclusive.
Gupta, who is the chairman of MPRF-R, claimed that media misreported the government decision regarding new recruitment in the national army.
“Media misreported the issue; the defense ministry made public the policy paper as per the government decision,” he said at Reporters´ Club in Kathmandu Saturday afternoon.
Gupta opined that the government has not rolled back on its decision as reported by the media.
Gupta accused the major parties of being ambivalent towards Madhesi recruitment in the army.
“They talk about inclusiveness in their party manifestos but are in fact status quoist,” he said.
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