Ethnic-based groups have staged a sit-in shouting slogans against the newly adopted 'Koshi' as the name for Province 1 in front of the Office of the Chief Minister at Roadshesh Chowk in Biratnagar on Friday.
Southing slogans including ‘Let’s Unite Pro-identity Forces’, ‘Koshi Province Unacceptable’, the protestors vented their ire against Chief Minister Hikmat Karki.
Various ethnic groups including the Limbuwan-Kirant Joint Struggle Committee hit the streets demanding to scrap ‘Koshi’ and rename Province 1 on the basis of identity.
“Province 1 has been named as ‘Koshi’ against our demand in haste without consultations in a despotic manner,” an agitator said.
Two thirds majority of provincial lawmakers on Wednesday endorsed ‘Koshi’ as the name for Province 1. Of the 93-member Province Assembly, 82 lawmakers voted for the motion, four lawmakers from CPN (Unified Socialist) and Janata Samajbadi Party voted against while seven lawmakers including speaker Baburam Gautam abstained from voting.
Lawmakers Rajendra Kumar Rai of Unified Socialist and JSP had registered a different proposal demanding that the Province 1 be named as Kirat-Limbuwan-Sagarmatha Province.
However, the proposal was rejected by a majority of votes.
Earlier, CPN (UML) lawmaker Ram Bahadur Rana Magar proposed the name and it was seconded by Niran Rai of UML and Bhumi Prasad Rajbanshi of Nepali Congress.
In Province 1, UML has 40 lawmakers, NC 29, Maoist Center 13, Rastriya Prajatantra Party six, CPN (Unified Socialist) four and Janata Samajbadi Party has one lawmaker.
