ke ko talk, bihari chorharulai goli thokide.

Gupta says it is high time terai armed outfit come for talks

Minister for Agriculture and Cooperative Jaya Prakash Gupta, Sunday, called on underground armed outfits operating in Terai to come clear on their main political demands and sit for talks with the government, while reiterating that his party Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) became a part of the current coalition government to "ensure the rights of Madhes and Madhesi people" and turn the country into a truly federal state.

Jaya Prakash Gupta (File Photo)

The call for dialouge from the cabinet minister has come on the International Peace Day celebrated every year on September 21. Home Minister Bamdev Gautam has also been repeatedly calling the armed outfits to come to negotiating table, but at the same time warning that if they don't comply then the government might get tough with them

"At a time when the country has already become a federal republic state and most of the demands of Madhes is in the process of being fulfilled, innocent people are being killed mercillesly," Gupta said referring to the killing of government employee Mohan Mainali by an underground outfit in Terai on Friday. "What this has done is give a bad name to the Madhesi movement."

The senior MJF leader, who was speaking at an interaction organised by Reporters Club Parsa in Birgunj, said that it is high time that these underground outfits come to the negotiating table with their demands.

The Madhesi minister is in Parsa at a time when the government employees in the disrict are agitated following the killing of Mainali, an officer at the District Administration Office.

Although he condemned the killing, the public servants have gone ahead with their protest programme, closing down government offices for an indefinate period from Sunday demanding employees' security at the workplace.

Prior to becoming a part of the government, MJF had been of the stance that the government should initiate talks with the armed groups operating in Terai. However, since joining the coalition government MJF, which even professed armed struggle to ensure the rights of Madhesh during the Madhesi movement that gave it much-needed political mileage, has taken no initiative in this regard, according to analysts. nepalnews.com Sep 21