Talks between the government and the Madhesi Morcha made no headway on Friday as the agitating side rejected a political proposal floated by the ruling parties.
The ruling UML-Maoist and the main opposition NC have proposed to amend the recently-promulgated constitution to meet Madhesi demands for proportional representation and constituency delimitation in proportion to population right away and resolve dispute over federal boundaries through an all-party committee within three months.
The Morcha has been pushing for a package deal, putting pressure on the big three parties to agree on redrawing federal boundaries right away.
The Morcha has demanded Sunsari, Morang, Jhapa as part of the eastern Madhes province. It is also demanding Kailali and Kanchanpur as part of the western Madhes province.
After Friday's meeting, Morcha's leader Upendra Yadav told journalists: "We will not let the first constitution amendment bill be passed before resolving the demarcation dispute."
The Morcha has asked the ruling parties to forward the post-earthquake reconstruction bill but put on hold the constitution amendment bill.
But the NC, which took initiative to table the first constitution amendment bill when it was leading the government, is now angry. It has vowed to disrupt the parliament if only the reconstruction bill is forwarded.
The NC also boycotted Friday's talks, demanding the passage of the first constitution bill.
As the political stand-off continues, earthquake survivors continue to live in temporary shelter in central Nepal.
On the other hand, the blockade imposed by India to back the Morcha's agitation has been taking its toll on common people across the country since September. People in Madhes were already affected by the Morcha's indefinite strike before the blockade. The Morcha has been spearheading anti-constitution protests for the last four months.