Minister Thakur, 3 MPs resign over Madhes crisis

KATHMANDU, Dec 10 - Minister of Science and Technology Mahantha Thakur, who is also a senior Nepali Congress leader, and three parliamentarians representing constituencies in the Terai resigned Monday, stating that the state has continued to act indifferent to the problems prevailing in the region.

They said that they would launch a bold but peaceful agitation in Madhes.Hridayesh Tripathi of Nepal Sadbhavana Party-Ananda Devi (NSP-A), Mahendra Yadav of the CPN-UML and Ram Chandra Rai of the Rastriya Prajantantra Party were the lawmakers who submitted their resignation letters to Speaker Subash Nemwang this morning saying that they were setting up a Madhes Regional Party.

They said that they were resigning as the seven-party, the interim government and even the interim parliament have not paid required attention to the demands of the Madhes people.“We cordially appeal to participate in the campaign to establish an extensive Terai-Madhes force for the determining peaceful agitation against inequality,” they said.The Madhesi lawmakers are striving to unite to give a ‘democratic’ outlet to the Madhes crisis, Tripathi said. He also claimed that other Madhesi MPs were also preparing to step down.The resignations come at a time when the NSP-A and Madhesi People’s Rights Forum are launching a joint agitation for Madhesi rights.

Rastriya Janashakti Party spokesman Sarbendranath Sukla, Nepali Congress leader Anish Ansari, Brishesh Chandra Lal, Ram Chandra Kushwaha and UML leader Shri Krishna Yadav of UML have also resigned from the party.