National
Local body reshaping negotiations after Oli, Deuba return home
As the second rung leaders failed to find a common position on local body restructuring, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has decided to start negotiations when chiefs of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML return home after their medical treatment abroad.As the second rung leaders failed to find a common position on local body restructuring, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has decided to start negotiations when chiefs of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML return home after their medical treatment abroad.
The PM took the decision as the attempt of three major parties to find a common position for restructuring of local government units made no headway on Wednesday too as the parties stuck to their stances.
Dahal had called the meeting to find an agreement for completing the task by mid-October.
Technical committees under the Local Level Restructuring Commission failed to submit their reports even as their deadline ended on Wednesday.
The LLRC maintains that it can produce its recommendations by mid-October only if it receives reports from the committees on time.
In Thursday’s meeting, PM Dahal urged the parties to help the technical committees prepare their reports. However, the NC reiterated its stand that the party cannot agree to the 565 units of local bodies as recommended by the commission.
“The parties have agreed to expedite negotiations after the NC president and the CPN-UML chairman return from their health check-ups,” said Chiranjivi Paudel, personal assistant of NC senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel. Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba is in Singapore while UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli is in Thailand for follow-up treatment.
Though its one-year term ends in March next year, the commission is working to submit its recommendations by mid-October as requested by the government. The Maoist-NC government has announced to hold the local elections by March.
The Election Commission has said that preparations such as restructuring, formulation of the laws and finding political consensus have to be over four months before the polls.