CPN (Maoist Centre) Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said the government would announce the date of local elections before expediting efforts to endorse the constitution amendment bill that has been tabled in Parliament.

Shrestha made such remarks in a meeting with Ram Madhav, general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, here on Tuesday.

Shrestha, who is currently in New Delhi to attend a Maoist party meeting, is also holding discussions with Indian leaders. “I have conveyed our position that the government would announce the date of elections first. After that, we will have enough time to address the demands of the Madhes-based parties through constitutional amendments,” Shrestha told the Post after his meeting with Madhav, who handles international affairs of the BJP and is considered close to Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi.

Madhav reportedly told Shrestha that it would be better to accommodate the aspirations of all the sections of people in the political process although it is an internal matter of Nepal.

Shrestha claimed to have told him that the political process in Nepal had got complicated due to interference by India in domestic politics. Madhav, however, denied that India had been meddling in Nepal’s political affairs. “Nepali leaders come and seek suggestions from us. When we give suggestions, they call it interference in their internal affairs,” Shrestha quoted Madhav as telling him.

Shrestha, who arrived in New Delhi four days ago, is also meeting other Indian leaders and intellectuals. He held talks with senior Congress I leaders Karan Singh, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Anand Sharma. He also interacted with General Secretary of Indian Nationalist Congress DP Tripathi and BJP leader Tarun Bijaya.

In the meetings, Shrestha said he highlighted the importance of maintaining good relations between the two countries. On Tuesday, the Maoist leader talked to students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. He shared that the blockade imposed by India after Nepal promulgated its constitution in 2015 had strained relations between the two neighbours. Shrestha said genuine concerns of both the countries should be addressed.