KATHMANDU: The Tharu Kalyankari Sabha, issuing a press statement today, threatened to launch an agitation if the parties hatched a conspiracy to extend the tenure of the Constituent Assembly.

It has demanded that the new constitution should be drafted before May 28, the deadline set by the interim constitution.

The statement, issued by general secretary of the sabha, stated that his organisation would launch an agitation if the Constituent Assembly tabled a Bill extending its tenure.

"We'll be compelled to announce general strike the moment the CA tables a Bill to this effect," read the statement. It has also appealed to the parties to include rights of the Tharu communities in the new constitution.

"We'll burn copies of all the CA's thematic committees if our concerns were not addressed in the respective concept papers," it stated.

Meanwhile, the sabha has decided to hold rallies and exposure programmes in six districts of the Tarai, where the Tharus have a sizeable population.

According to the plan, the sabha will organise rallies in Rautahat and Sunsari on January 16, in Sukhet on January 22, in Bardiya on January 23, in Kailali on January 25, and in Mahendranagar on January 26.