Madhesi activist to join politics, home minister to release all jailed cadres

A 'Free Madhes' campaigner and coordinator of the 'Alliance for Independent Madhes', C K Raut on Friday announced renouncing his secessionist movement and joining the mainstream politics. Raut, a coordinator of the Alliance, and Nepal Home Minister Ram Bhadur Thapa signed an 11-point agreement under which the government has agreed to release all the cadres of Alliance arrested in the past without any condition.

The agreement was signed by Raut and Thapa at a function, organised at the City Hall here on Friday, witnessed by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. "We were concerned about the problem facing the Madhesi people over the past few years, but time has now come that we head towards peace and development," he told a joint press conference after signing the 11-point agreement.

As per the agreement, Raut has accepted the integrity of the nation. Raut, who was in judicial custody for months allegedly carrying out a secessionist movement in Terai, was released Thursday evening following a Supreme Court verdict.

"Our coordinator agreed to the request from the prime minister to announce publicly that we abide by the country's Constitution," a spokesperson of the Alliance Abdul Khan told reporters. Raut, an engineer by profession, started the Madhesh movement in 2006, with an aim to establish a 'separate Madhes' for the rights and welfare of the Madhesi people.

He formed the Alliance for liberating the Terai, the southern plains in 2011. Madhesis are large of Indian-origin and inhabitants of the Terai region. The Madhes-based parties had launched a six-month-long protest in 2015-16 to press for a constitutional amendment in which nearly 60 people were killed.