Kathmandu, November 11
Upon the failure to forge a consensus among its provincial lawmakers on the name and capital of Province 3, the Nepal Communist Party, which holds the two thirds majority in the provincial legislative, has requested the party’s central leadership to intervene.
The party’s two chairpersons–KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal–have been requested to hold a discussion and make an appropriate decision.
It has been learned that Oli is in favour of naming the province Bagmati and fixing the capital in Kavre or Bhaktapur. Dahal, however, wants to retain Hetaunda or establish his home constituency Chitwan as the capital.
Earlier, a parliamentary committee had suggested five districts including Kavre, Bhaktapur, Chitwan, Makawanpur (where Hetaunda lies) and Nuwakot for the capital.
A source in the party informs that most lawmakers agree on Oli’s proposal for naming the province Bagmati and keeping the capital in Kavre. They are against the proposal for keeping the capital in Hetaunda.
The capital debate is now restricted to Kavre vs Hetaunda.
The differences over the name seem trickier as there are multiple suggestions. Those affiliated with the former Maoist Centre want the province to be named Newa Tamsaling. Nepalmandal and Gauri Shankar are two other recommendations.
