Nepal Madhesis leaders seek support from Lalu

Top leaders of Madhesis movement in Nepal today met RJD president Lalu Prasad and urged him to exert pressure on the Centre to ask that country's government to fullfill their demands.

Top Madhesi leaders including Upendra Yadav, Rajendra Mahto and Mahendra Yadav held a nearly half-an-hour meeting with the RJD chief here.

Upendra Yadav is chairman of Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum, while Rajendra Mahto heads Sadbhavana Party and Mahendra Yadav is Chairman of Terai Madhes Sadbhawana Party.

Later, Prasad while talking to reporters, supported the demand of the Madhesis and assured he would raise the issue with the Centre.

"The demand of Madhesis is genuine and it should be fullfilled by the Nepal government," he said. Upendra Yadav told reporters that Prasad has assured sincere support to the cause of Madhesis.

Earlier, RJD senior leader Raghubansh Prasad Singh had also vocally supported the Madhesis and even taken out a march.

Nepal's Madhesi community, largely of Indian origin, are agitating against that country's new Constitution adopted in September as well as against boundaries of the proposed seven federal units.

The Madhesi Morcha has been protesting for almost four months in Nepal's southern Terai plains, blocking movement of vehicles between India and land-locked Nepal thus creating widespread shortages in the Himalayan nation.

Its leaders had also met External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders in Andhra supported the demand of Kapus and appealed to community members to maintain peace.

Addressing a press conference in Vijayawada, Endowment Minister P Manikyala Rao of BJP, State party unit President K Hari Babu and MLC S Veerraju asked Kapu leaders to ensure anti -social elements do not mingle with community members and create law and order problem.

CPI State Secretary K Ramakrishna said the TDP Government's failure to act on its pre-poll promise of providing quota to Kapus led to the stir.

In a release here, he requested the Commission to submit its report as early as possible so that the Kapu reservation issue is settled.

He appealed to political parties to not to use the Kapu community for political gains. Speaking in Kakinada, agitation leader Padmanabham blamed the TDP-led Government for the violence at Tuni.

The violence was orchestrated by TDP leaders to defame Kapus and their agitation for reservation, he claimed.