Madhesi party struggling to resolve differences

Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF), Ma partner in the Maoist-led government in Nepal, is in a serious crisis, as its members have demanded to immediately call back its ministers.

The MJF, which vows to fight for an autonomous state in Terai region (close to the Indian border), had emerged as the fourth largest political party in Nepal in the last Constituent Assembly election. Subsequently, four members were inducted in the ministry.

But the members of the party feel that the four ministers failed to perform and demanded to immediately recall them.

More than three-dozen MJF members of the Constituent Assembly submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Prachanda on Tuesday demanding to call back their ministers from the government.

The group led by lawmaker BP Yadav had demanded ministers Upendra Yadav, Gachchedhar, Renu Yadav and Jayaprakash Gupta be relieved from the government claiming that they could not perform satisfactorily in the Maoist-led government.

The MJF has 52 members in the 601-member Constituent Assembly. Interestingly, this is for the first time in Nepal’s political history, that members of any political party have demanded recall of its ministers.

The MJF lawmakers also submitted a memorandum to Constituent Assembly (CA) Chairman Subhas Chandra Nemwang on Tuesday demanding removal of parliamentary party leader Bijay Kumar Gachchedhar and party chief whip Ram Janam Chaudhary from their posts.

In a bid to resolve the dispute over the ministers’ removal, a meeting of the MJF parliamentary party was held on Wednesday in Singha Durbar.

Meanwhile, Physical Planning minister Bijay Kumar Gachchedar claimed that the dispute within the party will be resolved soon.