KATHMANDU: Twelve Madhesi Central Committee members and two central advisors of the Unified CPN-Maoist today issued a press statement urging the party to withdraw its decision to celebrate promulgation of the new constitution.

Promulgating a constitution that does not address the grievances of all stakeholders would be suicidal, said the Madhesi leaders in the statement.

These CC members said the government was suppressing the agitation in Tarai even as four dozen people have sacrificed their lives for their rights.

The Madhesi leaders said the new constitution was not in the interest of the country and the people. “Our party decided to celebrate the constitution without analyzing the situation in Madhes/Tharuhat. Therefore, we urge the party to withdraw the decision and join the protest against the constitution,” read the release. The leaders said if the party did not decide to withdraw its decision, they would join the protests.

UCPN-M CC member Ram Rijhan Yadav said that if the party did not withdraw its decision to celebrate commencement of the new constitution, Madhesi leaders would join the movement.

Yadav said the party took the decision to celebrate the constitution without even taking the consent of Baburam Bhattarai and Naryan Kaji Shrestha.

Bhattarai today said in Kavre that he was happy about the new constitution. He, however, said that the time to jubilantly celebrate the constitution had not yet come. UCPN-M politburo members Ram Chandra Jha, Bishwanath Sah, Mahendra Paswan, CC members Ram Rijhan Yadav, Hakikullah Khan, Bharat Sah, Ghanashyam Yadav, Ram Chandra Mandal, Upendra Sah, Chinak Kurmi and central advisors Kalamuddin Rain and Ramesh Ranjan Jha had signed the statement.