KATHMANDU, August 6

Six Madhesi leaders of Unified CPN-Maoist on Thursday said they wanted autonomous Madhes Pradesh(es) and ‘or’ provision in the citizenship clause of the new constitution.

The leaders include Ram Kumar Sharma, Prabhu Sah, Biswonath Sah, Mahendra Paswan, Ram Rijhan Yadav and Ram Chandra Jha.

Prabhu Sah said one of the reasons of discrimination in Nepal is identity and therefore the question of identity should be addressed by the parties. He said Madhes districts should not be included in the hilly Pradeshes or else they would not accept such federalism.

Asked what they would do if their party agreed to include Tarai districts in the hilly province, Sah said they would take the issue to the people of Madhes.

Another leader Ram Kumar Sharma said UCPN-M’s Madhesi leaders were committed to the Madhesi cause more than any other Madhesi leader and would remain committed to the cause.

He further said CPN-UML Chair K P Sharma Oli’s idea of federalism had angered Madhesi people. Madhesi leaders have been urging the party leadership and CPDCC Chair Baburam Bhattarai to promulgate the constitution only after resolving the boundary issue, adopting three languages as means of communication, retaining the ‘or’ in citizenship clause, incorporating Madhes uprising in the Preamble, and ensuring proportional inclusion in the constitution.

They have also demanded changing the name of the constitution to Constitution of Federal Republic of Nepal in order to signify the epochal change brought by the recent movements, besides the provision for provincial Judicial Council which could autonomously work in the province.