Kathmandu, October 18
The main opposition, CPN-UML, on Tuesday demanded that the Prachanda-led government inform the Parliament if a trilateral meeting — between Nepal, China and India — indeed took place on the sidelines of the recent BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit in Goa, in which PM Prachanda was also a participant.
PM Prachanda and his Secretariat’s claims regarding the trilateral meeting have courted a lot of controversy, the UML said, adding that the government should come clean on this issue in the House.
Speaking at the House meeting on Tuesday, UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari reiterated that the government should inform the House if the trilateral meeting indeed took place.
Adhikari pointed that spokesperson for India’s External Affairs Ministry had clarified by organising a press conference that such a meeting had not taken place. The UML leader said the reports about the trilateral meeting had put Nepal’s credibility in question.
The spokesperson’s remarks have added to the confusion, Adhikari said, adding that the government should clear the confusion.
This government is not serious about implementing agreements that Nepal had signed with China when KP Oli was prime minister, Adhikari said, describing the government’s recent activities as ‘suspicious’.
At the meeting, Prem Suwal, lawmaker from Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party, also said PM should come clean on the ‘trilateral meeting’. He accused India of forming a government comprising the Maoists (CPN-Maoist Centre) and the Nepali Congress to fulfil its vested interests.
Suwal said: India provided support to the Maoists during the armed conflict. Right now, (India) is making efforts to rule Nepal in a way that suits its interests.
Pointing that PM Prachanda had signed a 25-point agreement during his visit to India, the NWPP leader said recent activities are in line with Point 11 of the 25-point deal. Point 11 seeks to align Nepal’s foreign policy as per India’s foreign policy.
