Birgunj, May 27:

Central president of the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) Upendra Yadav has claimed that his party was not guilty in the Gaur incident.

He also said that he would come to the talks table if the state withdrew charges levelled against his party cadres and guaranteed security.

Accepting the report of a panel formed by the MJF to probe the March 21 Gaur incident, Yadav said the election system would be futile sans suitable representation of Madhesis. The election will not be acceptable to our party until a proportionate system is set up, he said.

The forum had formed a three-man panel chaired by former Supreme Court judge Baliram Kunwar Singh and consisting of two other members — Surendra Mishra and Lal Babu Yadav. Formed on April 18, the panel submitted its report amid a press conference today.

The panel pointed out that pro-Maoist Madhesi National Liberation Front (MNLF) and local administration were to blame for the Gaur incident. The report also stated that there was no incident of rape and that the weapons used during the incident had no sharp edges.

An MJF programme was in full swing when cadres of the MNLF detonated bombs, explosives, and fired shots creating havoc among the programme participants.

It was difficult to point out who killed whom in such a stampede, it said. As the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (Jwala Singh) and the Terai Cobra have already claimed responsibility for the incident, it is clear that the MJF is not guilty, the report said.

Govt assurance

Kathmandu: Minister for Peace and Reconstruction and Convener of the Government Talks Committee, Ram Chandra Poudel, has thanked the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum for its readiness for talks, and said the government is ready to provide security to the leaders and workers of the forum. Poudel called on the MJF to sit for dialogue.

The Forum had welcomed the formation of a commission under the chairmanship of Supreme Court Justice to probe the loss of lives and property in the Madhes agitation and had demanded guarantee of security for its leaders to create an atmosphere for talks.— RSS.