MADHESIS TO PROTESTS IN NEPAL’S TERAI TO STALL POLLS

KATHMANDU Madhes-based parties have decided to launch protests against planned local body elections in Nepal’s southern plains after talks between the government and agitating parties failed to reach an agreement on amending the country’s new Constitution.

The Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN), an alliance of seven Madhes-based groups, called for a four-day shutdown from Tuesday. The RJPN has announced it will not only boycott the elections but obstruct it.

In Saptari district, one of the hotspots in the Terai, RJPN cadres briefly detained 50 junior election officials on Wednesday. RJPN cadres were also injured in scuffles and protests reported from several districts.

Since the promulgation of the Constitution in September 2015, some 60 people have died in the southern Terai region in violent demonstrations.

The latest negotiations failed when the government did not agree to amend the Constitution to make it Madhes-friendly and inclusive. The Madhes-based parties have now opted for a twopronged strategy of simultaneous talks and protests.

Talks on Wednesday between major political parties and the RJPN did not yield any results.

The Madhesi groups believe the new government led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has failed to address their grievances and is bent on holding the polls on June 28 without sorting out the demands of the Madhesi people.

The government, however, plans to defer polls in provinces no 2 and 5 to meet the demands of Madhes-based parties. “Elections can be postponed in the 11 Terai districts, “said deputy prime minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar.