Kathmandu, February 13:

The agitating groups in the Tarai today demanded that the government make its stance clear on the six-point demands forwarded by the United Madhes Democratic Front (UMDF) before they come for talks.

This demand came as a response to the seven-party alliance’s call to the Madhsi and other agitating factions to come for dialogue.

“Once the government and the seven-party alliance made their stance clear on our demands we can sit for talks because we were never against settling issues through peaceful negotiations,” said Rajendra Mahato of Nepal Sadbhawana Party, a key ally of the recently formed alliance of the political parties agitating for the rights of the Madhesis.

Joint-coordinator of the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum, Jaya Prakash Gupta, another partner of the UMDF, shared the same view.

“If the government is serious about dialogue it should make it clear on how it plans to address our demands. If our grievances are genuine the government should say so,” Gupta said, adding that the United Madhes Democratic Front wants implementation of previous agreements signed between the government and the MJF to ensure an atmosphere conducive for the talks.

Mahato and Gupta both complained that the seven-party alliance talks team, despite making a public appeal for the dialogue, is yet to send any formal invitation for the talks. Nepali Congress leader and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel, who is heading the seven-party talks team, told this daily that the they would hold dialogue with the agitating factors in an honest and sincere manner because they (agitating parties) also want constituent assembly polls to happen on April 10.

“They will come for peace dialogue and seek a negotiated settlement,” he said. Poudel brushed off claims that the Prime Minister was holding backdoor talks with the agitating groups.

“Those are only informal talks. I am not in position of saying much,” he said.

Ego of some politicians of Madhes, rather than a political cause, has hindered genuine leaders from holding talks with the government, he said.

Prime Minister himself wanted to talk to all three leaders of Madhes yesterday but this could not materialise, as Upendra Yadav from the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum is out

of the valley.

Sarita Giri, a member of the seven-party alliance talks team, having a mandate to expedite negotiated settlement with the agitating factions, expressed hope of Madhesi faction heeding the call for talks.

“If the decade-long insurgency started by the CPN-Maoist can be solved through dialogue, why can the problem of Madhes region not be solved through dialogue?” Giri questioned, adding that her party would work as a bridge between the government and the Madhes.