Nepal parties agree to amend constitution

Security forces deployed in Terai to clear highways and border trade points

Nepal's major political parties agreed on Monday to amend the country's new Constitution, to accommodate the demands of Indian-origin  Madhesis  for better representation in the national legislature and elsewhere, and a fairer drawing of boundaries of the areas they inhabit.

A meeting in this regard of the national legislature is scheduled for Thursday. The Nepali Congress' officiating head, Ram Chandra Poudel, said the meet decided to seek an agreement with Madhes-based parties before making changes in the Constitution.

The ruling and opposition parties would hold talks with the agitating Madhesi parties separately, local media reported.

This might resolve the crisis that has led to massive shortages of essential items after Madhesis blocked transit routes from India to the landlocked country. The protests have also led to violence, in which about 50 people have lost their lives.

The move comes a day after four protesters were killed in police firing during a blockade in the volatile Terai region along the Indian border. The Government of India has been appealing for a resolution of the crisis, by accommodating the concerns of the protestors.

Prime Minister K P Oli called a meeting of all major parties at his residence on Monday morning. All the parties — Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, UCPN-Maoist, Rashtriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, Rashtriya Prajatantra Party and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Democratic — agreed to proceed with the Bill in question.

The earlier government, led by the NC's Sushil Koirala, had introduced such a legidlation in an attempt to address the demands of Madhesis. In a related development, Nepal on Monday deployed more security forces in the Terai, to clear key highways and border trade points, even as Madhesis defied curfew to intensify their agitation.