Nepal PM wants to be seen as friend of India and shed image of revolutionaries who used to refer to both US and India as imperialist powers
Posted Date – 12:45 AM, Fri – 2 June 23
Nepal PM wants to be seen as friend of India and shed image of revolutionaries who used to refer to both US and India as imperialist powers
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda is on a visit to India, his first since taking office last December, marking the revival of relations between the two countries after some past irritants and underscoring the importance India attaches The two sides will further promote the bilateral partnership. There are signs of a diplomatic shift in Kathmandu that was earlier seen as favorable to China. In a major setback for Beijing, the pro-China Nepal United Marxist-Leninist Party has withdrawn from the current ruling coalition after the November 2022 general election. Recent amendments to Nepal’s citizenship law granting instant citizenship and guaranteed political rights to foreign women married to Nepalese are set to anger China, which has warned that the law could grant citizenship and property rights to descendants of Tibetan refugees. Although Prachanda, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), was earlier seen as pro-China, he is now widely expected to reassure India that he is willing to ally with it to contain Chinese influence. He has been openly stating that he wants to do something important in the bilateral relationship with India. Clearly, he now wants to be seen as a friend of India, shedding the image of a revolutionary who used to refer to both the US and India as an imperialist power. Like his ally and predecessor Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prachanda has been slow to make progress on projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative that Nepal agreed to six years ago.
Prachanda’s government has suspended purchases of military equipment from China and promised to speed up investigations into missing persons and Maoist excesses during the civil war. Nepal is politically stable with no government or any prime minister serving a full term. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) slipped to third place after the Nepal Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist). Facing political turmoil and economic crisis, Prachanda appears eager to be seen as respecting the sentiments of Nepal’s Hindus, including Indore and Ujjain, two cities with important Shiva temples, on his current itinerary. Also, progress has been made in addressing the friction points of India’s implementation of hydropower projects in Nepal. Prachanda is aware of the continuing role of Indian goodwill in Nepalese politics. In December, apparently at the urging of China, he attempted an alliance with another communist party, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist), but ultimately found it more comfortable to ally with the pro-India Nepal Congress. During the ongoing visit, the two countries are expected to sign more than half a dozen agreements. It is also expected to make substantial progress on energy, connectivity, trade and development cooperation initiatives.
