Nov 19, 2015- Civil society representatives organised protests at Sunsari and Morang districts on Thursday against the recently proposed idea of dividing the districts to settle the ongoing Tarai agitation.
In Itahari, the civil society representatives opposed the idea of dividing Sunsari to induct it in state number 2 and organised a protest rally against district division and India’s ‘undeclared’ blockade.
Addressing an assembly after the rally, Civil Society President of Itahari Chapter, Bodhraj Nepal, termed India’s blockade as anti-humanness and went on to warn severe consequences if the district was to be divided.
Likewise, Madhesi leaders from Nepali Congress issued a statement saying they would, under no circumstance, accept to be inducted in state number 2. District Vice President of NC, Ram Prasad Meheta, among other leaders, opined that the Madhesi-Pahade relation would remain harmonised if the Sunsari was a part of state number 1.
Similarly, CPN-UML leaders in the district organised a press conference today and took exception to the idea of cutting Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari from state number 1 to induct them in state 2. CPN-UML’s district chapter also warned of whirl of protests if their region was to be divided.
In Biratnagar, civil society leaders organised an hour long sit-in outside District Administration Office in Morang to express their demand of undivided Morang. There were 63 organisations and eight political parties participating in the protest.
Citizens, think tanks, civil society workers, law enforcers and businessmen in Sunsari and Morang have been agitated by the UCPN (Maoist) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s new proposal to divide the districts on the basis of Hill and Madhes origin population and separate them into state number 1 and 2. They have been resorting to protest since Wednesday.
Leaders from Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN (M), among eight political parties, have been supporting the claim to not divide the districts.
Published on: The Kathmandu Post (November 19, 2015)
