Madhesi leaders leave for Delhi for crucial talks

Kathmandu: Senior leaders from the Indian-origin Madhesi community protesting against Nepal's new Constitution on Sunday left for New Delhi to meet top Indian leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi for political consultations to resolve the ongoing crisis. The senior leaders of Joint Madhesi Morcha who left for Delhi include Mahantha Thakur, president of Terai Madhes Democratic Party; Upendra Yadav, president of Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum-Nepal; Rajendra Mahato, president of Sadbhawana Party; and Mahendra Yadav, president of Terai Madhes Sadbhawana Party.

On Saturday, they had a crucial meeting with Nepal's major political parties including main opposition Nepali Congress and ruling alliance members CPN-UML and Unified CPN-Maoist to discuss ways to resolve the ongoing crisis facing the country. During the meeting, they had presented their 11-point demand to the major political parties, who in turn proposed their three-point agenda to address the current political stalemate.

The Joint Madhesi Morcha leaders are likely to hold crucial talks with Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other senior leaders regarding the ongoing agitation in southern Nepal and ways to resolve the issue. The three-point solution proposed to forward constitution amendment Bill in the Parliament, to form an all party political committee to resolve the issue relating to re- demarcation of the provincial boundary and asking the Madhesi parties to withdraw their agitation in the Nepal-India border points that has severely hit supply of essential goods.

The Madhesi parties have launched agitation protesting against the new constitution for the past three months. Their major demands include re-demarcation of the boundary, inclusion of proportionate representation and allocation of Parliament seats on the basis of population. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa on Sunday said transport and supply management would be smoother as the obstacles seen at the Nepal-India border and "undeclared blockade" imposed by India would end soon.