Muslim Alliance dissociates from Madhesi front in Nepal

Kathmandu: The anti-Constitution agitation in Nepal suffered a jolt on Tuesday with the National Muslim Struggle Alliance dissociating itself from the blockade enforced by the Indian-origin Madhesis, saying it will not get involved in any activity jeopardising national sovereignty.

The Alliance issued a statement announcing that it has broken its alliance with the Joint Madhesi Democratic Front (JDMF), which has been leading protests in southern Nepal districts, accusing the front of repeatedly breaching the understandings reached between the two groups.

"We will not get involved in any activity that would jeopardise national sovereignty and lead to humanitarian crisis," the alliance said.

The alliance pointed out that it will launch separate protests and the programmes will be peaceful in nature.

The alliance further accused the JDMF of ignoring the issues of the Muslim organisation and not including its representatives in meetings and negotiations with the government and top leaders.

Meanwhile, four Madhesi protestors were injured today when locals clashed with the cadres of the JDMF staging protest at Gaur Municipality in Rautahat district.

Nepal-India border near Rautahat remained tense for half an hour following the clashes.

In another incident, 16 Nepalis detained by the Seema Surakshya Bal (SSB), Indian border security force, have been handed over to Nepal.

As many as 52 Nepalis - 19 women and 33 men - were detained by SSB at Birpur of Supaul district in India.

"16 Nepalis have been handed over to us," Deputy Superintendent of Police Chiranjivi Koirala of District Police Office Sunsari said, adding "our investigation showed these Nepalis were on their way to Jaipur, India, in search of employment".

The DSP said that they will be soon handed over to their families.

"The SSB said they detained them for entering India in large numbers," SP Sanjayraj Sharma said, adding "a team of Nepal Police has reached Birpur and details are being investigated in the matter".

The Madhesi parties have launched agitation protesting against the new Constitution for the past three months. Their major demands include re-demarcation of the boundary, inclusion of proportionate representation and allocation of Parliament seats on the basis of population.