KATHMANDU, Dec 24: Dalit activists have expressed deep disappointment over the exclusion of Dalits from the Madhes region in the central and provincial parliaments. They have also criticized the major parties for this failure.
Major parties have chosen a few Dalit representatives from the hilly region. However, representation from Dalits in the Madhes region is virtually nil. They did not get representation in both First-Past-The-Post (FTPT) and Proportional Representation (PR) categories.
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The underprivileged community makes up about 13.08 percent of the national demography. Among the country's total Dalit population, 35 percent live in the southern plains of the country.
“Even though the country's constitution advocates ending all types of caste-based discriminations to create economic equality and prosperity as well as to ensure social justice, none of the political parties gave election tickets to Madhesi Dalits during the federal and provincial elections,” reads a letter sent by Dalit activists to the Election Commission (EC).
Activists Bhola Kumar Paswan, Bachhu Sarwariya, Yuktilal Marik, Ghanshyam Rajak, Pachhu Majhi Musahar and Rakshya Ram Harijan jointly urged the EC to intervene and ensure Madhesi Dalit representatives in parliament.
With the provincial and parliamentary elections for the country's federal system now concluded successfully, a total of 884 members are being selected for the central parliament and provincial assemblies.
