According to the Prime Minister's Press Advisor Prateek Pradhan, the government has appealed to all agitating parties to share the historic responsibility of drafting the new statute. The government has reiterated its commitment to resolving their demands through negotiations, while also urging them to shun any violent activities.
"The letters will be delivered to the leaders of the agitating Madhes-based parties and Tharuhat leaders by tomorrow," Pradhan told Republica late Wednesday evening.
The government's formal letter calling for talks comes amid the agitating parties complaining that they have not yet received any invitation to talks to resolve their concerns. "Although we have been holding informal talks, we have not received a formal invitation for talks," senior leader of Tarai Tharuhat Party, Gopal Dahit, told Republica Wednesday afternoon.
The agitating Tharu groups have demanded meaningful talks with the government, with NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML Vice-Chairman Bhim Rawal included in the government talks team. They have asked the government to meet their aspirations for an autonomous Tharuhat province.
Addressing a press conference in Janakpur, TMDP Chairman Mahantha Thakur said although the government has appealed for talks they have not received any formal letter. "We can think of holding talks with the government only after receiving a formal letter," he said, adding that they won't settle for any agreement that goes against past agreements.
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala himself has been making efforts to woo the different disgruntled political parties, both inside and outside the Constituent Assembly (CA), since the last few days.
While he telephoned TMDP Chairman Thakur about holding talks, he also held a meeting with CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya, Wednesday. The prime minister and leaders of the major political parties have also been in informal negotiations with Tharu lawmakers and leaders of the Tharuhat protests in western Nepal for the past few days.
According to Prime Minister's Press Advisor Pradhan, Prime Minister Koirala said that it was the shared responsibility of all political parties to promulgate a new statute and that no one can escape from this historic responsibility. "Prime Minister said that there is nothing that cannot be resolved through talks," he said.
At his meeting with the prime minister, CPN-Maoist Chairman Baidya expressed reservations over the deployment of the army and suggested finding a political solution to the demands put forth by the agitating Tharus and Madhesis.
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