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Changes Nepal’s internal affairs: India
India has said that recent political changes in Nepal are the country’s internal matters.Kamal Dev Bhattarai
India has said that recent political changes in Nepal are the country’s internal matters.
Amid Indian reports that the southern neighbour was happy at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s resignation, Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup said his government was “neither happy nor sad” at the developments.
He added that it was the Indian government’s responsibility to work with the political leadership of all the countries. This is the first official reaction of the Indian government as the Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist Centre) prepare to form a majority government.
“As far as the recent political developments in Nepal are concerned, we treat them as the sole internal matter of Nepal. I do not want to make any comments,” Swarup said at a regular weekly press briefing. China on Tuesday also commented that it was an internal affair of Nepal.
This week, citing high-level officials, the Indian media came up with news and editorials that India was delighted by the collapse of the CPN-UML Chairman Oli-led government. It was also reported that India backed the NC-Maoist coalition, which is in the process of forming a new government.
“We are closely watching the unfolding political developments,” said a senior government official. “It is not true that India entirely believes that the new coalition will address all the outstanding issues.”
According to him, India, through informal channels, has advised the NC and Maoist leaderships to take the UML on board and not to alienate it. “To address the demands of the Madhes-based parties, there is the need for constitution amendment and the UML’s role in it is vital,” said the official.
He said it was not sure how the new coalition would move ahead. Indian officials maintain that their position on Nepal remained constant despite the recent political changes. “We firmly believe that demands of the Madhes-based parties should be addressed and the parties should go to the polls,” said the official.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister of India Sushma Swaraj had said, in a meeting with a parliamentary delegation from Nepal, that despite their repeated assurances, Prime Minister Oli and DPM and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa had not addressed the issues related to demarcation of the federal provinces.