The Madhes government has announced a protest against the federal government demanding immediate adjustment of police force.

Organising a press conference in Janakpur on Saturday, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communication Bharat Prasad Shah said that the Madhes government is launching its first phase of protests.

“We will organise a sit-in protest in front of the provincial chief’s office for two hours every day for a week as part of our first phase of protests against the federal government,” Shah told the Post. “If the federal government remains indifferent towards our demands for a week, we will begin our second phase of protests.”

The protests, according to Shah, will begin from Sunday with a sit-in from 11am every day and ministers of the Madhes government, members of the provincial assembly and civil society members and intellectuals will participate.

Despite the continuous demand by the provincial governments that the police force be adjusted immediately, the federal government has not done so because of which provinces are facing problems.

Earlier on July 7, internal affairs ministers of all the seven provinces had issued a seven-point declaration including their demands for early adjustment of the police force.

In the second week of July, the internal affairs ministers met all major leaders of the ruling coalition and set a mid-August deadline to adjust the police force.

The federal government, however, is unlikely to adjust police force as general and provincial elections have already been declared for November 20.

Earlier when provinces were demanding adjustment of the police force, Home Ministry officials looking into the matter said all preparations had been completed.

The federal government has already taken control of security arrangements of the three districts of Kathmandu Valley—Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktpur—by amending the existing laws despite controversy, as even ruling party lawmakers saying the move would breach the constitution.

The constitution says that the responsibility of the security of the province falls under the provinces. Kathmandu Valley falls under Bagmati Province.

Minister Shah said the leaders in the federal government had told the internal affairs ministers of the provincial governments that it is difficult to adjust police before the polls and they had promised to complete after the November 20 polls.

Conflict is set to escalate as the provincial governments want police adjustment before the November 20 polls while the federal government wishes to delay it until the polls.