Prime Minister Shah reaffirms commitment to strengthen provinces

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening the country’s federal structure.

He made the remarks during a meeting with leaders of Madhesh-based political parties at the Office of the Prime Minister to discuss the recent incident in Tarai districts and other related issues. Shah said his party is not against federalism.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rastriya Mukti Party (RMP) Chairperson Rajendra Mahato said Prime Minister Shah asked leaders not to call him anti-federalism. “Don’t even dream of calling me anti-federalism. We want to strengthen the provinces. I have only spoken about improving the structure,” he said. “Our party is not against federalism; rather, it supports building a stronger federal system.”

Earlier, leaders argued that the provincial governments had not been granted adequate authority and that the absence of provincial control over security agencies had hampered the effective management of such incidents.

According to Mahato, the prime minister also assured the leaders that the federal system would face no threat under his leadership.

Shah further pledged to implement all existing agreements and understandings, and expressed his commitment to ensuring that such incidents do not recur in the future.

Janamat Party Chairperson CK Raut said they also drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the need to grant greater authority to provincial governments. “We are not trying to make the government fail. We want to prevent it from heading toward a crisis. That is why we have suggested strengthening federalism,” Raut said. “If a provincial police force had been in place, authorities with a better understanding of local languages, communities and conditions would have been able to manage such incidents more effectively.”

Raut also said the leaders urged the prime minister to create special opportunities to facilitate greater recruitment of members of the Madheshi community into the Nepal Army.

Along with Raut and Mahato, Madhesh-based leaders such as Mahantha Thakur, Lalbabu Raut, Samim Miyan Ansari, Ram K. Sharma, Prabhu Sah, Amresh Kumar Singh, Sharat Singh Bhandari and Jayakant Raut, and other leaders, were present in the meeting.