Nepal blockade: Madhesis, opposition agree to 'quickly' resolve political crisis

Kathmandu: Nepal’s main opposition party Nepali Congress and the agitating group of Indian-origin Madhesis have agreed to quickly resolve the current political crisis due to the ongoing blockade of key border trade points with India. The Nepali Congress (NC) and representatives of the United Madhesi Democratic Front (UMDF) met at NC President Sushil Koirala’s residence at Maharjgunj on Saturday. During the meeting, they held discussions on contemporary issues and the ongoing unrest in the Terai region, and agreed to resolve the current political crisis as soon as possible. The NC urged the front to support resolving the crisis through the Constitution amendment process as the bill related to the same has been tabled in the Parliament. The party also asked the front to forge consensus on the bill as it could be revised by including the front’s demands. [caption id=“attachment_2553138” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Protests in Nepal. File photo. Image courtesy: AP[/caption] In response, the Front asked for a clear roadmap of NC in revising the demarcation of provinces, citing that the bill could not address the delineation issues. Madhesis, the Indian-origin inhabitants of the Terai region are agitating over the new Constitution demanding more representation. They are also protesting division of their ancestral homeland under the seven-province structure and have led an ongoing blockade of key border trade points with India. According to NC spokesperson Dilendra Badu, the meeting on Saturday discussed ways to address the demands of the front. He added that Nepali Congress urged the front to be responsible to sort out the problem through dialogue and consensus. Terai-Madhes Democratic Party spokesperson Sarbendra Nath Shukla said that they held discussions with NC on the issues related to constitution amendment. PTI