Rautahat, October 28:

A senior Nepali Congress leader today warned of an armed struggle in the Tarai if the demand of the Tarai folks were ignored.

“The Maoist launched revolution with the help of khukuris and swords and the Madheshi people will launch another revolution with the help of sophisticated weapons like the Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) if the government ignores the demands raised by Madhesis,” said Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, former minister and NC central leader.

He said that the Madhesi people should be given to lead the nation and the Madhesis can unite by forming a new political party.

Nepali people want change, but the seven political parties are in favour of a status quo, he said today while addressing an interaction on Constituent Assembly election to establish right of the people from marginal and ethnic groups and castes, jointly organised by the Tharu Welfare Committee, Rautahat, Tharu Student’s Society and Rautahat-Bara Active Tharu Society.

Though the political leaders talk of Federal Democratic Republic, they do not want to mention it in the Interim Constitution, he said adding that Madhes revolution forced the seven political parties to amend the Interim Constitution.

The issue of inclusion of all marginalised groups in the constituent assembly should be raised because the country will go for a Federal Democratic Republic, he said.

The Maoists, who launched war to press for holding an election to constituent assembly, are now obstructing the holding of an election to the constituent assembly, he said, adding that the Nepali Congress strongly supported holding of a constituent assembly at the earliest.

Parliamentarian Umakanta Chaudhary said that the Tharus have now become aware of their rights and that they would fight for them through the constituent assembly. People from the hills and the sourthern part of the country have been exploiting Tharus for long, he said.

Govinda Chaudhary, an assistant minister during the royal regime, said he strongly supported an election to the constituent assembly even though he worked as a minister during the royal regime.