Apr 11, 2016, at 10:47 pm
On April 6, 2016, United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) cadres protested the visit of Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation, Agni Prasad Sapkota, greeting him with black flags in the Rautahat District. Ram Niwas Yadav, District Coordinator of UDMF, observed, "We have restricted the Ministers or any other Government officials from visiting the District. But, Sapkota's visit sparked tension; so we protested." The agitation by UDMF - comprising the Upendra Yadav-led Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal (FSF-N), the Mahantha Thakur-led Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), the Rajendra Mahato-led Sadbhawana Party (SP) and the Mahendra Raya Yadav-led Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party (TMSP) began - commenced on July 1, 2015, when they burnt copies of the preliminary draft of the Constitution in capital Kathmandu, as it failed to incorporate their demands. The Madhesi protestors are the demanding redrawing of the boundaries of Provinces in the Himalayan nation as proposed in the new Constitution, and the restoration of rights granted to Madhesis in the Interim Constitution of 2007 which, they claim, the new Constitution has snatched away.