Mithila Rajya Sangharsha Samiti on Tuesday reiterated to continue their protest to name Province-2 ‘Mithila Province’.

At an event held here to pay tribute to the victims of Ramananda Chowk blast, participants demanded to make Maithali as the official language of Province-2.

Five years ago, on April 30, 2012, saboteurs detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to a motorbike at Ramananda Chowk, Janakpur.

The bomb blast killed five people and injured 32 in the crowded market place. The attackers targeted a group of Madhesis staging a sit-in demanding Mithila Province.Police later arrested Sanjaya Kumar Sah, the mastermind of blast and his accomplices Jaya Prakash Chaudhary, Ranjit Jha, Mukesh Kumar Chaudhary, Tipenu Jha, Suresh Kumar Karna and Mukesh Kumar Karna.CPN-UML Dhanusha Chairman Raj Kishor Yadav said some political parties want to give other names to the province. “We should take ‘Mithila Pradesh protest’ to the villages and put pressure on the government to name Province-2 as Mithila,” he said.

Mithila Rajya Sangharsha Samiti Chairman Parameshor Kapadi said, “The group would stage protests if the government decides some other name for Province 2. Mithila is a century old area and the identity of Mithila should be recognized.”Nepali Congress leader Ram Saroj Yadav said, “A majority of the population speaks Maithali in the province. Province-2 is purely the ‘Mithila’ area. Their demand is valid,” said Yadav.