SRC report fate hangs in balance
- NC, UML threaten to disown it
Signs of a major rift in the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) have surfaced, with two main opposition parties warning that they will not accept a report of the SRC due next week. The parties have accused the ruling parties of ignoring their members in the commission in the decision-making process.
Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML leaders issued the warning on Friday after some of their representatives in the SRC complained that the members representing the Maoist party and the Madhesi parties were taking decisions “unilaterally”, SRC Chairman Madan Pariyar, a UML nominee, was being “lenient” towards the Maoist-Madhesi faction and that the dissenting members were not being invited to regular meetings.
The SRC has been ridden by factionalism ever since its inception on November 23. While one group advocates for a six-state model and is against priority rights for dominant ethnic groups within a state, another group has pitched for an 11-state model guaranteeing political priority rights to certain ethnic groups and a non-territorial Dalit state. While there are five members, including Chairman Pariyar, in support of the 11-state model, three are in support of the six-state model, while one is neutral.
The NC and UML reaction follows a decision taken by the Maoist-Madhesi faction on Thursday to go for the 11-state model by securing “priority rights”. The priority rights include, among other things, the constitutional authority to reserve two consecutive terms for a leader from a certain ethnic group to rule in a certain state.
Three members—Ramesh Dhungel, Sabitri Gurung and Sarba Raj Khadka—walked out of the review meeting on Thursday, expressing serious dissatisfaction over the working style of the SRC chairman, a political source said.
Meanwhile, despite the three members’ disapproval, the source said the review meeting attended by the Maoist-Madhesi group completed the review of the draft report.
“If what the members have said is true, NC won’t accept the SRC report,” said NC’s leader and law expert Ramesh Lekhak. “How can we accept any decision when some of the members are excluded from the decision making process?” Sources said Pariyar has not tried to contact the dissenting members but is moving ahead taking “unilateral decisions”.
The NC and the UML have also said that they will reject the SRC report if it provisions priority rights. “The Congress believes that priority rights for certain groups to rule over others is undemocratic and cannot be accepted at any cost,” Lekhak said. “In fact, no one is demanding such a right. This is more an imposition than a demand.”
In the joint meeting, the NC and UML leaders also decided to press the Maoists to take forward the peace and statute writing processes along the lines laid by the November 1 seven-point deal. They agreed not to discuss anything until the Maoists withdraw the decision to legalise conflict-era property transactions.
The bickering
11-state model: Madan Pariyar, Krishna Hachhethu, Surendra Mahato, Stella Tamang, Malla K Sundar
Six-state model: Sarba Raj Khadka, Ramesh Dhungel, Sabitri Gurung
Neutral: Bhogendra Jha
Posted on: 2012-01-28 09:12
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