Hundreds of people, specially youths,  on Monday participated in a Citizen’s Pressure rally taken out to draw the attention of the government towards rights violations and killings in Tarai.

Participants flashing placards urging government to keep the door open for dialogue walked all the way from Maitighar Mandala to Baneshwor. They urged the agitating groups to sit for talks and maintain social harmony. The youth-filled crowd also criticised the government for not making enough effort to bring the agitators to the table for dialogue.

A group of artists also briefly joined the rally but left halfway once ‘the crowd chanted political slogans’, at which they disagreed on.

Actress Karishma Manandhar, Priyanka Karki, comedian duo Deepak Raj Giri and Dipa Shree Niraula, including Kedar Ghimire and Raja Rajendra, participated in the rally.

“This is high time to promulgate a new constitution, but the slogan people used was more provocative and against the new constitution. That is why we had to abruptly leave the rally,” said Karki.

“It was a public event,” said Yubraj Dahal, one of the organisers. “We could not be selective while inviting the public,” he said in response.

The crowd demanded immediate end to violence in the plains. The southern belt has remained shut for a almost a month due to ongoing protests, adding to the woes of the general public.

“But we didn’t feel it like a citizen’s pressure rally.

It seems that people came there with their own interest rather than for the country and for people’s need,” said Deepak Raj Giri.