KATHMANDU, Feb 16: The agitating United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) has said that it won't accept the report of the Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) until the local units are delineated in proportion to the size of the population living in Tarai-Madhes. 

In a meeting with the members of the taskforce formed by the cabinet to recommend suggestions to address the concerns of the agitating Madhes-based parties, the UDMF leaders termed the LLRC report incomplete and also demanded that the local units be put under the jurisdiction of the province concerned. The term of the taskforce headed by Local Development Minister Hit Raj Pandey includes Minister for Industry, Nabindra Raj Joshi and Minister for Commerce, Deepak Bohora. 

Talking to Republica, General Secretary of Rastriya Madhesh Samajwadi Party, Keshab Jha said that they have demanded that the taskforce revises the LLRC report, while taking into account the size of the population in Province 2. “We clearly told them that we won't accept the LLRC report if this is not revised,” Jha said.

The Madhesi leaders said that their demands may not be addressed by the taskforce meeting as they want the local bodies under the jurisdiction of the provinces. They argued that only a meeting of the top leaders of the major parties could address their demands.

According to Jha, the taskforce members, too, feel that some of the demands of the agitating parties can be addressed only through a meeting of the top political parties. “We will suggest to the top leaders to hold a meeting with the agitating parties to arrive at a consensus,” Jha quoted the taskforce members as saying. The taskforce is scheduled to submit its report to the government on Thursday.

 
• united democratic madhesi front
 
• local level restructuring commission