The Madhesi protesters under the leadership of the United Madhesi Democratic Front (UMDF) of Nepal declared on Friday that they will start a new round of agitation enforcing a blockade on the capital Kathmandu.
The protest will start three months after the end of a crippling economic blockade that the UMDF had launched demanding citizenship rights for the Madhesis of Nepal.
“Since our last declaration in February, the government of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has done nothing to address the democratic aspirations of the Madhesi people. Our new protest will begin with a rally on Saturday and from Sunday, we will (enforce) blockade on the government headquarters,” Upendra Yadav, one of the key leaders of the UMDF, told The Hindu on the phone from Kathmandu. “We will not let the government function unless it carries out amendments to the Nepali Constitution guaranteeing citizenship rights.”
China cardThe aim of the protest, Mr. Yadav said, is to expose the government of Mr. Oli . “Prime Minister Oli declared that the new Constitution will be amended, but he did not take the promised steps. Instead, he has been blackmailing India showing the China card because India has supported the amendments,” said Mr. Yadav.
Friday’s declaration of the protest was made exactly a week after Nepal cancelled the visit of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to India and recalled its ambassador.
