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Govt, Madhesis to continue talks on Monday

The government and agitating Madhesi groups are preparing to continue, Monday, from where they left during the overnight talks.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Home Minister Krishna Sitaula led government team in the talks that went on throughout the night on Sunday well into the Monday morning.

Although reports say that the two sides are close to inking a deal, they have not been announced yet. Some reports say that the agitating groups have asked the government to amend the constitution and postpone the polls to address their demands; both of which were rejected by the government. Details of such differences have not been elaborated by any side yet.

The two sides are set to hold what they have called as final round of talks on Monday morning at Baluwatar.

The overnight talks were aimed at finding the agreement to pave the way for smooth elections. The Election Commission has fixed Monday as the date for filing nomination papers of candidates contesting in First Past The Post election.

According to Kantipur daily, the government-Madhesi talks had continued till 3 am in the morning on Monday. "We have agreed on autonomous Madhes. We are now discussing about how to reflect Madhesi peoples' aspirations in words," a leader of Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) Hridayesh Tripathy has told the daily. He added that there has also been understanding to declare those killed during Madhes agitation as martyrs and providing their families with relief.

Likewise, he said the two sides agreed that the parties which do not field more than 30 percent of candidacies would not need to fulfill quota (of candidates from various region and ethnicity) when filing candidacies. The agitating groups had earlier demanded to raise this limit to 50 percent from the existing 20 percent.

Leader of United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) Upendra Yadav talking to journalists...

The overnight talks were participated by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Home Minister Krishna Sitaula as well as leaders of United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) Mahantha Thakur, Tripathy, Rajendra Mahato, and Upendra Yadav. The government had flown in Yadav from Birgunj at around 9 pm on an army chopper. The talks with Prime Minister, however, had started much later in the night at Baluwatar. nepalnews.com sd Feb 25 08