Kathmandu, February 3
Leaders of the United Democratic Madheshi Front, which has been staging a movement in the southern plains for months, have indicated that they will change their strategy shortly. They said the upcoming meeting of the UDMF will change the form of the stir, conceding that the current movement has been hitting people in Madhesh the hardest.
The leaders were speaking at a face-to-face that Reporters’ Club Nepal had organised today.
Ram Naresh Ray, senior leader of the Tarai-Madhesh Sadbhavana Party, expressed confidence that the upcoming UDMF meet will review the achievements of the movement.
“At the (party) secretariat, we have held extensive discussions on revising the movement. We will raise this issue at the UDMF meeting.”
“The government has paid no heed to the five-month-long movement, hence the need to change the form of the movement,” he said. There’s a need to take the Madhesh-centric movement to new heights, he said, stressing the need to take the stir to the hills and the Himalayas.
Rajendra Shrestha, vice-president of the Fedral Socialist Forum Nepal, said the next wave of the movement will be capital-centric instead of focusing only on Madhesh and customs points. For this, there’s a need to change the form of the movement, he said, adding: In the days ahead, we will expand the movement throughout the country. Shrestha made it clear that the blockade will continue as long as the general strike continues.
Manish Suman, general secretary of Sadbhavana Party, said they are eager to end the movement as it has affected Madheshi people the most. For this to happen, the (state) should address our just demands without delay, he said.
