The Madhesi-Janajati alliance on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the District Administration Offices across the country, calling on the government to redraw the federal boundaries carving two provinces in the Tarai plains. The memorandum was submitted as part of an awareness campaign unveiled last Friday by Sanghiya Gathabandan, an alliance of Madhesi and Janajati parties.

In the memorandum, the alliance has put forward a 26-point charter of demands including a call to rewrite the constitution. “The constitution can be accepted only if the government rewrites it by addressing the promises made to marginalized and indigenous communities in the past. The struggle would continue unless our demands are addressed,” said Upendra Yadav, chairman of the Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum Nepal. Gathabandan leaders have threatened to picket Singha Durbar and hold a general strike from next month if their concerns are not addressed.

Earlier, they had decided to postpone the Kathmandu-centric protest programs, citing lack of preparation. Representatives of the government and the agitating parties have been blaming each other for delays in resuming the negotiation process. Negotiators from the three major parties and the agitating parties have not been able to resume the negotiation process since February 19. They have failed to find a solution to the Tarai crisis despite 36 rounds of talks due to disputes over the state's demarcation. “There were very little differences in other issues. But it didn’t change the things as the government was unwilling to comprise on the state demarcation, our main demand,” Vice-chairman of Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party Hridayesh Tripathi, a Morcha representative in the negotiation process, told the Post in a recent interview. In the memorandum, the alliance has also accused the government of promoting the black marketeering and called on to ensure smooth supplies of the daily necessities.