Gulariya, November 18:

President of the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) Upendra Yadav cut short his speech at a programme today, anticipating chances of a clash between cadres of his outfit and the Maoists. Yadav was in Gulariya, the district headquarters of Bardiya, to address a mass rally called by the MJF. The Maoists were staging a protest rally at the same time.

Cadres of the MJF were deployed at the programme venue, while the Maoist cadres were organising the protest rally to pile pressure on the government to opt for a fully proportionate election system and declare a republic. Police personnel were feeling the heat to control the situation. Delivering his seven-minute speech, Yadav said, “I do not wish to speak for long. The Maoists too have a rally today. We are concluding the programme ahead of time.”

Chief of the police in Bardiya district Pawan Kumar Kharel made a telephone call to the forum’s district leaders to shorten the programme, saying that the chances of a clash were likely, said the forum’s district president Krishna Prasad Yadav.

President Yadav accused the government of not meeting its 22-point demand. He said, “The MJF will announce an agitation if the demands are not met by November 21.”

Charges have been levelled against the MJF, but we stand for peace, he said. “We will never disintegrate the nation. We want a federal state with autonomy.”