Continues to bargain
The Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM), an alliance of five
Madhes based parties that had been rooting for a constitution with
federalism that guarantees identity, continued to bargain hard for the
Constituent Assembly (CA) to deliver such a statute.
On Sunday, the final day of the CA tenure, the Morcha was engaged in intense negotiations with the UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress, and the CPN-UML.
The Morcha has been demanding two states in the Madhes, while it wanted the country be federated on the basis of either a report of the majority members of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) that had called for 10 states or the recommendation of the CA thematic committee on state restructuring that had recommended 14 states. Both the reports have suggested two states for the Madhes.
“We have been saying that state restructuring must be based on the report of the SRC or the CA committee. But the Nepali Congress and the UML don’t agree to it,” said Sadhbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato. He said the NC-floated 13-state model that had divided the Madhes into five provinces was not acceptable to them.
To press for their demands, the Morcha forged an alliance with other marginalised groups including the janajatis, Muslims and Dalits.
Analyst Dipendra Jha said that while Morcha will be a “part of the failure to deliver the statute on time,” it will “catch the popular sentiment by projecting the NC and the UML as those that opposed federalism despite the Morcha’s repeated attempts.”
Jha added that since the next elections will be fought along the lines of federalism, the Morcha is likely to gain more support.
It is interesting to note that the Morcha formed in November 2008—then termed the Samyukta Madhesi Morcha—at the initiation of Rajendra Mahato was an alliance that would challenge the “unequal relations with Kathmandu”.
“The Morcha was formed to counter the perceived unequal relations with Kathmandu,” says political analyst Chandrakishore.
“The Morcha will probably emerge strong in the next elections as it is currently in alliance with janajati, Muslim and Dalit groups,” he said, echoing Jha.
On Sunday, the final day of the CA tenure, the Morcha was engaged in intense negotiations with the UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress, and the CPN-UML.
The Morcha has been demanding two states in the Madhes, while it wanted the country be federated on the basis of either a report of the majority members of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) that had called for 10 states or the recommendation of the CA thematic committee on state restructuring that had recommended 14 states. Both the reports have suggested two states for the Madhes.
“We have been saying that state restructuring must be based on the report of the SRC or the CA committee. But the Nepali Congress and the UML don’t agree to it,” said Sadhbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato. He said the NC-floated 13-state model that had divided the Madhes into five provinces was not acceptable to them.
To press for their demands, the Morcha forged an alliance with other marginalised groups including the janajatis, Muslims and Dalits.
Analyst Dipendra Jha said that while Morcha will be a “part of the failure to deliver the statute on time,” it will “catch the popular sentiment by projecting the NC and the UML as those that opposed federalism despite the Morcha’s repeated attempts.”
Jha added that since the next elections will be fought along the lines of federalism, the Morcha is likely to gain more support.
It is interesting to note that the Morcha formed in November 2008—then termed the Samyukta Madhesi Morcha—at the initiation of Rajendra Mahato was an alliance that would challenge the “unequal relations with Kathmandu”.
“The Morcha was formed to counter the perceived unequal relations with Kathmandu,” says political analyst Chandrakishore.
“The Morcha will probably emerge strong in the next elections as it is currently in alliance with janajati, Muslim and Dalit groups,” he said, echoing Jha.
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