The very next day, police evacuated protestors from the border checkpoint at Birgunj. When the protestors subsequently pelted stones, police opened fire, killing an Indian involved in the protest.
The agitating Madhes-based parties lambasted the police and said their action had ruined the environment for talks. And the government talks team is yet to approach them to improve the environment.
"The government used excessive force when the environment for talks was starting to turn positive. The coordinator of the government talks team has gone to Geneva and none of the other team members have consulted us yet," said Laxman Lal Karna, co-chairman of the Sadbhavana Party.
Tarai Madhes Democratic Party Vice-Chairman Hridayesh Tripathi alleged that the government was never serious about settling things through dialogue. "The prime minister is in a confrontational mood. He and his party, UML, have been acting out of pseudo-nationalism," said Tripathi.
"The establishment in the past had a three-fold agenda in ruling the country. The agenda was pseudo-nationalism, monarchy and Hinduism. As the country turned secular and became a republic, the people who had benefited from the establishment wanted the UML to lead the pseudo-nationalists and the UML is now trying to fit into those shoes. It is in this situation that the government is not prioritizing dialogue," he added.
The Madhesi leaders admit that they are also under immense pressure to appreciate the present crisis. "We are asked to end the protests sooner rather than later but only after securing the rights of the Madhesi people," said Tripathi.
"As the protests drag on, leaders in Madhes will come under more pressure from people there as well as other parts of the country. That is why we are in favor of settling things through talks but the government is not serious," added Karna.
Madhes-based leaders argue that the scarcity of essential goods is due to their border-centric protests and the current crisis would end if the issues at hand are settled through dialogue.
Madhes-based parties also want the ruling coalition to form a high-level political committee including the main opposition Nepali Congress to settle the problem.
The government had formed a talks team led by Deputy PM Kamal Thapa for holding the talks. As the team was formed by the cabinet, the main opposition has rejected a proposal to join it.
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