Kathmandu, October 30

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa, who heads the government’s talks team, today wrote to the United Democratic Madhesi Front and United Madhesi Front, saying the government was committed to meeting the conditions set by the agitating forces for dialogue.

According to Manish Kumar Suman, General Secretary of Sadbhavana Party, a constituent of the UDMF, the government stated in the letter that it had already sent Rs 1 million each to the families of the deceased protesters and was committed to providing free treatment to injured persons and withdrawing false cases.

Suman, however, said that they had received reports that many families of the deceased had not received compensation yet. He also claimed that the UDMF had been taking care of the injured protesters as the government had provided no amount to them. |

According to sources, the government had also appealed to the agitating Madhesi forces to seek negotiated settlement of their grievances keeping in mind the broader interests of the country.

When asked to comment on the government’s letter, Chair of Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal Upendra Yadav said he had not received the letter yet. He said a meeting of the front scheduled for tomorrow would review the agitation and chalk out further strategies.

UDMF has been agitating in Madhes for more than two months and has also been blockading border entry points for the last few weeks.