Madhesi negotiators at a press meet in Kathmandu on Tuesday. Photo: Gopen RaiMadhesi parties have quit the joint taskforce formed to prepare the framework of a deal with the Big Three parties.
At a hastily-called press conference in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Madhesi leader Hridayesh Tripathi said: "It is pointless to be in a taskforce that cannot take any decisions."
A representative of the Madhesi Front in the taskforce, Tripathi added: "Now it is up to the top leaders of the both sides to reach a consensus."
The new political development means there will be no agreement between the two sides any time soon, and the blockade imposed by India will continue.
Early this month the Front had nominated Tripathi and two other Madhesi leaders as members of the taskforce proposed by the NC, UML and the UCPN (M). The taskforce held several rounds of talks but made no headway.
The two sides have agreed to resolve dispute over federal boundaries by forming an all-party mechanism. But differences over the scope of the mechanism continue. While the Front is seeking a commitment that the mechanism will create two provinces in the country's southern plains, the Big Three parties are against it.