Dhangadhi, October 25:

Central president of Tharuhat Autonomous State Council Nepal (TASCN) Laxman Tharu declared an armed revolt against the state amid a drill of the Tharuhat Mukti Fighters in Dhangadhi.

Tharu claimed that the council had one division of ‘Tharuhat liberation fighters’ and they were all equipped with domestic weapons.

At the programme, however, only 25 fighters were present in combat dress. They were also not armed.

He said the council had trained its fighters, who were “ready do anything at the time of need”. He said there was nothing called Madhes region and the “drama of Madhes agitation was created just to erase the existence of the Tharu community”.

Tharu also said the council was preparing to distribute land and land certificates to the victims displaced by floods in Lalabojhi and Bhajani.

On the occasion, Tharu leader Kishor Kumar Biswas, who was affiliated with the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum till a year ago, said the Tharus were compelled to launch the armed struggle to protest the government’s discrimination against the Tharu community.