Stating that the recent calls for talks were half-hearted efforts, civil society members and Madhesi leaders have urged the government to initiate a genuine dialogue with agitators to put an end to the ongoing killing spree in Tarai.

Hundreds of people from all quarters took part in a rally taken out to draw the attention of the government towards rights violations and killings in the southern plains.

“Killings should stop immediately,” said Ganesh Sah, former Science and Technology minister. “Instead of engaging them in a dialogue, the government has resorted to violent measure to control the protesters, which is objectionable,” he said.

Forty people, including nine security personnel, have been killed in various clashes in Tarai, where protests are ongoing for a month. The government has clamped curfew in half a dozen districts and declared some as riotstricken areas.

The National Human Rights Commission and THRD Alliance, only organisations who visited the field, have reported police excesses. However, protesters have also lynched security personnel during protests.

“Killing can never be justified but the situation has escalated to become a war-like time,” said Surendra Chaudhari, a Nepali Congress lawmaker. “However, it was not a law and order problem. Leaders also know it is a political problem.”

Former ambassador Vijay Kant Karna said the killing in Tarai is a deliberate attempt of the government. “The state is pushing Madhesi people to the edge,” he said. “The people in power will be responsible if the state disintegrates.”

Some participants also demanded resignation of Home minister for mobilising security personnel to confront the public, who are demanding their rights.

“The government should have found a political solution instead of administrative one,” said civil society leader Sundar Mani Dixit. “All they want is to be heard and their identity acknowledged.”

Dixit argued the constitution writing process should be halted for a while, which is one of the demands of the agitators, to start a genuine dialogue. “The state should be more responsible at such times and three parties should not make haste to promulgate the constitution, which is opposed by all quarters,” he added.