Kathmandu, May 27
The Federal Alliance has decided not to sit for talks with the KP Sharma Oli government unless and until it gets a formal letter addressed to it.
Recently, Prime Minister Oli had sent a written invite to alliance partner United Democratic Madheshi Front for talks.
As UDMF leaders reacted differently to the invite, the alliance held a meeting on Friday to discuss the matter and make its stance public.
At the meeting, alliance coordinator and president of the Federal Socialist Forum Nepal, Upendra Yadav, said they have not received the letter that PM Oli is ‘supposed to have sent’.
Despite what Yadav said, the media — both print and electronic — have given due importance to the PM’s letter.
The alliance has taken exception to a portion of the letter that the media splashed. “The letter in question states that all of our demands have been addressed. We object to this claim,” Keshav Jha, spokesperson for the National Madhesh Socialist Party, told Onlinekhabar.
Jha said the FA will sit for talks with the government only if it sends an invitation to it and not UDMF.
FA also floated preconditions for talks with the government. They include declaration of those who died in course of the movement as martyrs, relief for victims’ families, release of leaders and cadres arrested during the movement and pledge to meet political demands, it said.
Asked if this is the response that the alliance is forwarding to the government, Jha said: There’s no question of alliance responding to the government’s letter as we have not received any such letter.
12-hour hunger strike
Meanwhile, the Federal Alliance has decided to stage a relay hunger strike from May 31. The alliance has been staging a Kathmandu-centric movement. It ends on Saturday. The alliance is organising public gatherings in Madhesh on May 29-30. After the gatherings, the alliance will organise a 12-hour relay hunger strike in Kathmandu and gradually launch such strikes in other districts.
