Madhesi parties obstruct Nepal parliament meeting

A key meeting of Nepal parliament was postponed till tomorrow after agitating Madhesi parties today obstructed it, demanding the government to address their issues in the new Constitution which has triggered a political crisis.
As the legislature parliament meeting began today, the lawmakers from Madhesi front, which had been boycotting the House, tried to obstruct it by standing from their seat.
However, after Speaker Onsari Gharti assured them to provide time to speak before the parliament, Madhesi leaders let the meeting go ahead.
But later, they began chanting slogans after picketing the rostrum of parliament hall, leading to postponement of the meeting till 3 pm tomorrow.

Madhesi front leader Ashok Rai in his address said that agitating United Democratic Madhes Front was ready to continue the talks provided the government takes some initiatives.
"The government needs to be serious to address the Madhesis issues," he said.

The joint Madhesi front, which has 35 lawmakers in the parliament, had been boycotting the Parliament, disassociating themselves from the Constitution-drafting process to show their objections to the new charter that divides the country into seven provinces.
They decided to return to the House to voice their demands through the parliament meeting besides continuing their street agitation in the southern Nepal districts.

The alliance of four Madhes-based political parties has been staging various protests programmes in the Tarai region for the past two-and-half months.
They said their return to parliament meetings was to put pressure on the government to address their demands.
Madhesis, Indian-origin inhabitants of Nepal's Terai region, are protesting division of their ancestral homeland in the new Constitution and their agitation has closed the main trading point near Raxaul, halting supply of essential goods from India, causing an acute shortage of fuel in Nepal.
Meanwhile, CPN (UML) Deputy General Secretary Ghanashyam Bhusal has said that the ongoing Terai protest was not in favour of nation and Terai people themselves.

Bhusal, who reached Bara, in the southern Nepal to hold discussion with the Madhes-based party cadres interacted with Terai people on various issues relating to the provisions of new constitution and the parties' stance on ongoing agitation.
He appealed to Madhesi people to distance themselves from the ongoing agitation, saying any discontent in the Constitution could be addressed through amendments.