 |
Kathmandu Saturday July 22, 2000 Sharawan 07, 2057.
|
Govt not
cooperative: Deuba
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, July 21 - Former
prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has alleged that the government has not been cooperating
with the commission, formed to resolve Maoist insurgency, which he heads.
Deuba's statement to the
closed-door Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party (NCPP) meeting was disclosed by Nepali
Congress MPs here today.
Deuba reportedly demanded why
the government had still not responded to the Maoist commander Prachanda's letter desiring
dialogue with the government, which he passed to the government.
The MPs also mentioned that
Deuba demanded clarification from Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala regarding the
later's comments on newspapers. Some newspapers carried a report today quoting
Koirala that the Committee already had the required mandate and nothing further was
conceivable. The PM did not comment anything on Deuba's remarks in the meeting, sources
said.
"I had not asked for any
mandate," Deuba told The Kathmandu Post after the meet ended. "I don't know why
the government is not responding to Prachanda's letter," Deuba added.
According to NCPP Secretary
Benup Raj Prasai, the meeting decided to refer the loan deal with the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) to the Natural Resources Committee (NRC) to reach a solution.
It is learnt that Finance
Minister Mahesh Acharya told his fellow ministers and party MPs about the possibility to
disclose the details of the agreement with ADB if required.
Prasai said that the government
was not against the disclosure of the deal but only wanted House of Representatives
regulations to be followed in the matter. "If the House and NRC decide, the
government will present the deal for discussion," said Prasai. However, he added that
the House rules only require the government to inform about the issue and not necessarily
hold a debate on it.
NRC has called a meeting on
Saturday to discuss the issue. Lekhnath Acharya, chairman of NRC, said that his committee
has already asked the concerned agency to furnish a copy of the agreement with ADB.
Prasai also added that the NCPP
had informally decided to pass all the tabled bills and amendments in this session of the
Parliament.
Accusing the main Opposition,
CPN-UML of dual character on the Amendment to the Citizenship Act, Prasai said the Bill
had earlier been passed with the support of CPN-UML and now the same party was opposing
it. The Citizenship Bill has been rejected by the Upper House and was sent back to the
Lower House, where the Bill is awaiting passage.
Meanwhile, CPN-UML's leader K.P.
Oli told The Kathmandu Post that since the Bill had raised controversy, his party had
suggested the government not to pass the Bill in haste.
According to Prasai the NCPP
also committed to develop a clear cut idea about the power purchase agreement (PPA) with
India before the Prime Minister's visit, and endorse it by simple majority.
Other Stories
|
