Kathmandu, May 4:

Minister of State for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Indra Bahadur Gurung, today called on all indigenous nationalities of the country to unite together to safeguard their rights.

Addressing the inaugural session of the two day-long central workshop on ‘Promotion of election of the Constitutional Assembly (CA), Issues of the Indigenous People and Human Rights’, Gurung said, “This is not the time to categorise oneself as an indigenous nationality from the Tarai or from the hilly region. It is the time to unite together and raise voices for the resolution of genuine issues.”

Above all, the indigenous nationalities should make sure that CA polls are held on the basis of proportionate representation of ethnic population and facilities are provided to ethnic minorities, he said. “The CA polls will be meaningless till the government addresses problems of different groups.”

Umakant Chaudhary, a member of parliament, said, “The Tharu community is not getting opportunities like other communities.” “There should be a proportionate representation of the Tharus in all state organs.”

“Time has come to safeguard the interests of the Tharus living in all 22 districts. Time has come to conserve their language, cultures and customs,” he said.

Mahesh Chaudhary, an expert on Tharu culture, said, “The CA polls offer an opportunity to all people, who had been neglected by the state, to safeguard their rights.”