Kathmandu, June 15
As the draft agreement for the US-proposed State Partnership Program got criticised by several political parties and the public, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has clarified he will not sign the deal during his visit to Washington, DC, to be held next month.
During a meeting with CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist chairmen Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal respectively, Deuba he would not sign the agreement now.
“Last night, the three had a long discussion about the topic,” a source close to the prime minister says, “The meeting concluded that forwarding this project would keep the ruling coalition in jeopardy. Hence, the prime minister withdrew.”
It has been learned that the three leaders met and discussed the topic today also.
Meanwhile, leaders of Deuba’s Nepali Congress party have also agreed to not discuss the issue further.
Otherwise, it was reported that the government was preparing to sign the State Partnership Program deal during Deuba’s visit as the United States had already submitted its draft copies to the offices of the Nepal Army, the prime minister and the president.
