Kathmandu, August 23
Call it a departure from the past.
During his recent visit to India in the capacity of Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s special emissary, Deputy Prime Minister Bimalendra Nidhi announced that PM Prachanda will visit the southern neighbour from September 14 till September 17.
He declared from New Delhi that Nepal PM Prachanda and his Indian counterpart will hold bilateral talks on September 16. Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is officially and blissfully unaware of this.
Former foreign minister Prakash Chandra Lohani: This is a matter of shame
Foreign affairs experts and high officials at the ministry say this is a wrong practice. A foreign country has finalised our Prime Minister’s visit. This is a matter of shame, a former foreign minister, Prakash Chandra Lohani, told Onlinekhabar.
Former foreign minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey: The South Block has set the date for Nepal Prime Minister’s visit. It smacks of treason. This is objectionable.
CPN-UML leader and former foreign minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey said: The South Block has set the date for Nepal Prime Minister’s visit. It smacks of treason. This is objectionable.
The experts say the onus is on Nepal’s foreign ministry to set the dates for such a visit and prepare itinaries.
Despite this controversy, the Office of the Prime Minister has kept mum.
Despite this controversy, the Office of the Prime Minister has kept mum. Ramesh Malla, personal secretary of the PM, said he has not received any formal communication about the matter.
What’s more, the foreign ministry has clarified that preparations for (Nepal) PM’s India visit are underway, adding that it is yet to work out the dates. Bharat Raj Poudel, spokesperson for the ministry, told Onlinekhabar: We are working out, we are yet to finalise the visit.
Ram Karki, government spokesperson: Special emissary Nidhi had the authority to set the dates for Nepal PM’s visit as he was the ambassador at large
But government Spokesperson, Minister for Information and Communications Ram Karki, claimed that the government itself had suggested appropriate dates for the visit while sending special emissary Nidhi to India. He said the special emissary had the authority to set the dates for Nepal PM’s visit as he was the ambassador at large. He said this is in keeping with what he called ‘international practice’.
A CPN-Maoist Centre leader: Former foreign ministers Lohani and Pandey are not experts on diplomacy. So, it is natural for them to get surprised (at the announcement from Delhi).
A leader from the ruling CPN-Maoist Centre offered his nugget of wisdom thus: Former foreign ministers Lohani and Pandey are not experts on diplomacy. So, it is natural for them to get surprised (at the announcement from Delhi).
