The government has held talks with the agitating National Innovation Center Chairman Mahabir Pun.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka held talks with Pun and his team at the Defense Ministry on Sunday afternoon.
During the talks, the two sides reached an understanding to form talks teams representing the government and Pun and reach an agreement by Monday.
Talking to journalists after the meeting, Pun said that the government was positive about addressing the demands raised by them.
“It has been agreed to form talks teams on behalf of both sides. The talks teams will be formed by 5 PM today and maybe an agreement will be reached by tonight or tomorrow,” Pun said. “The government appears to be making efforts to address the demands.”
He said that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had called twice while discussion with Deputy Prime Minister Khadka was underway.
Pun has been staging a sit-in at Maitighar, Kathmandu, since Friday putting forth various demands. He has demanded that the federal and provincial governments allocate one percent of their annual development budget for innovation and bring different policies to promote innovation, among others.
