RAJBIRAJ, OCTOBER 4

Loktantrik Samajbadi Party-Nepal Chairperson Mahantha Thakur has stressed the need to amend the present constitution.

'There are still a number of legitimate concerns of the Madhesi, Dalit, Muslim, indigenous and marginalised communities that haven't been addressed even by the present charter; that's why we in our party feel that the statute must be amended in order to address these legitimate concerns,' said the LSP-N chair, speaking at a press conference organised by the party in Rajbiraj today. Further, Thakur clarified that their priority was to get the agenda of Madhes addressed rather than joining the government.

When asked to comment on the protest against the raid on the Chief Minister's Office by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Mahantha said it would be inopportune to comment now.

'It is unnecessary for us to comment on the raid carried out by a constitutional body. It's better to say something about the matter once the conclusion of the investigation is out,' said Thakur. On a different note, Thakur accused Upendra Yadav of splitting the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal. 'We had formed a strong party to address the demands of the Madhes, but Upendra Yadav caused a split in the party,' he alleged.

Thakur also hit out at major political parties Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, blaming their power-centred politics for the worsening condition of the country.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 5, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.