Valley
UML hands memo to Dahal
Ahead of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s four-day state visit to India that begins on Thursday, a delegation led by former PM and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli met Dahal in Singha Durbar on Sunday.Ahead of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s four-day state visit to India that begins on Thursday, a delegation led by former PM and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli met Dahal in Singha Durbar on Sunday.
Submitting a memorandum, Oli urged the PM to make national welfare the first priority of his visit. The demands included taking concrete steps to revise the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with India, having a strong position while concluding negotiations on the Extradition Treaty and Mutual Legal Assistance, and implementation of the Mahakali Treaty while mobilising domestic resources for constructing the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track.
The UML also demanded consultation with India on the construction of the Postal Road in the Tarai.
The second largest party requested Dahal to draw India’s attention to the illegally constructed structures on the Nepal-India border that cause inundation in the Nepali territory.
The party that was ousted from government last month demanded that PM Dahal defend Nepal’s interests while reaching a deal on distribution of water resources and energy generated from the proposed Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project.
Another point of UML concern was ending Nepal’s dependence on India for petroleum products by leaving the possibility open for importing fuel products from other countries using the cross-border pipeline that Nepal and India are working to build.
The memorandum cautions the PM against signing any agreement in New Delhi that could jeopardise Nepal’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The delegation included UML leaders Jhala Nath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, Vice-chairmen Bam Dev Gautam and Bhim Rawal and General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel.
According to PM’s Press Adviser Gobinda Acharya, Dahal responded that he would abstain from signing agreements with India that affect national independence and integrity. Dahal promised a broad consultation with former PMs and the CPN (Maoist Centre) two days before leaving for Delhi.
“Nepal wants to establish cordial relations with India and China as per the spirit of the United Nations declarations and the principles of Panchasheel. Your [Dahal’s] government must focus on these values,” the memo reads.
The party also reminded the PM that the 10 agreements the Oli-led government reached with China including on trade and fuel import are beneficial for both Nepal and China.
‘Will be mindful of national interest’
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that no controversial agreement will be signed in New Delhi.
Speaking at the International Relations and Labour Committee of Parliament on Sunday, Dahal said, “This visit is by the prime minister of Nepal, not Pushpa Kamal Dahal or Prachanda. Therefore, signing agreements against national interest is beyond my imagination.”
But he said that his India visit would “open up a new vista of opportunity” and add new dynamism to bilateral relations. PM Dahal is under pressure from several quarters not to sign controversial agreements with India during the upcoming visit.
“I’m confident that my visit will not only normalise the [Nepal-India] relations that turned bitter in the past but also build a strong foundation for mutual trust,” he said. The PM told the committee that he would only be reviewing and implementing old agreements reached with India.
Additional support for post-earthquake reconstruction, a purchase agreement related to hydropower and funding for the Hulaki Highway are also on the agenda. Dahal shared with the parliamentarians that he would meet Nepalis in India, attend a reception at the Nepali Embassy and interact with foreign dignitaries on September 15.
There will be official meetings in the Indian capital on the second day of his visit. Dahal is also scheduled to hold an interaction with intellectuals there.
On September 18, before returning home, he will visit a factory of the Patanjali Yogpeeth run by Baba Ramdev. To prepare for the visit, Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat left for Delhi on Sunday.
Mahat will meet his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and discuss also with other officials the agendas of the PM’s visit.