KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has extended hearty wishes to all sisters and brothers from the Tharu community, living within the country and abroad, on the occasion of the Makar Sankranti and the Maghi festival.

In a message of best wishes today, he said, the Maghi festival that is celebrated on the 1st of the Nepali month of Magh is not only celebrated by the Tharu community but by Nepalis all over the country in one way or the other as Maghe Sankranti.

Adding that Tharu people marked Maghi as their New Year's Day, the UML Chairman shared in his message that every caste and ethnic community - among the 125 ethnic and 123 linguistic communities in the country - has its own cultural norms and values.

He also noted that our tradition encourages one community respecting the cultures of another community, adding that works would be carried out in the coming days for the protection and promotion of languages and cultures with a sense of ownership, in the context of government already recognising Maghi as a national festival.

Similarly, Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel greeted the Tharu community people on the occasion of Maghi festival, extending them best wishes for peace, progress, happiness and prosperity.