Kathmandu, July 17: A rebel group fighting for Indian-origin Nepali citizens today ordered officials hailing from the hills to leave the country’s Terai plains in a week.

The Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (Jwala group) warned of “severe consequences” if the diktat wasn’t followed.

“Rulers and administrators belonging to the hills are unacceptable to the Madhesis (people of Indian origin). Strong physical action will be taken against officials who fail to comply with our orders,” said Jwala Singh in a statement issued in Rajbiraj, a Terai town close to the border with India.

The morcha is an armed group that is waging a struggle for Madhesi rights. Their main demand is an increase in government jobs and more seats in Parliament.

Singh rejected a two-week deadline set by home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula for the groups in the Terai to hold talks, saying “such threats would not work”. He warned the government against using the army to deal with the “liberation struggle” in the plains.

“We will not be cowed down by such threats,” Singh said, adding that his group’s movement would continue till the people in the Terai plains had attained their rights.

Singh’s ultimatum sent the authorities into a huddle in the Nepalese capital. The home minister convened a high-level meeting this evening where he discussed ways to tackle the threat. Security measures needed to prevent an exodus of officials from the plains were firmed up.