Prem Sagar Poudel
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India has become a controversy. The issue of doing treason by kneeling with India became a topic of debate in the House of Representatives. UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party have criticized Prime Minister Dahal’s visit to India.
As written during the preparation of Prime Minister Dahal’s visit to India, this visit did not bring any benefit to Nepal. India got more than expected but Nepal could not even discuss the discussion topics.
Nepal has the topics for discussion with the India were EPG report, the return of Nepal’s land encroached by India, air route, etc. Nepal could not advance the discussion on any of these issues. Prime Minister Dahal, who landed in Delhi on 17th Jesth (may 31), was treated rudely by India right from the airport. On the same day evening, the discussion topic with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was decided.
The Nepali side had got the news that Indian Security Advisor Ajit Doval will come to the hotel ITC Maurya where Prime Minister Dahal is staying to decide the topics of discussion. Modi sent even Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra with Ajit Doval to the hotel without informing Nepal at the last moment. Generally, in such high-level meetings, the topics of discussion are decided in advance. This time, India was reluctant to decide the topic of discussion, because India is thinking of getting more benefits from Nepal this time.
While order to decide the topics of discussion between the two Prime Ministers, India did not want to hear about sensitive issues such as the unequal treaty of 1950, Gurkha recruitment, the Enlightened Persons Group (EPG) report, the Kalapani border dispute, the mural of an unbroken India with some territories of Nepal drawn in the new parliament building of India. After Foreign Secretary Kwatra was more focused on his own issues than the issues of Nepal, Prime Minister Dahal went out to the program held by the Nepali embassy, saying that this visit should be limited to goodwill travel only. Accordingly, a telephone conversation was also held with Nepal Airlines for tickets to return to Nepal on 18 Jesth (June 1). Prahlad Das Damodar Rao Modi, the brother of Prime Minister Modi, who is also the President of the World Hindu Federation of India, intervened after knowing all this matter. President Modi, who came to Nepal two weeks ago and finalized the date of Prime Minister Dahal’s visit to India, met Prime Minister Modi and discussed the developments.
After discussion, it was agreed, that not to agree on dispute issues with Nepal, but Prime Minister Modi would address this issue during his speech at the press conference. Indian Prime Minister Modi was taking a stance even on the issue of making Nepal a Hindu nation. For the address on this subject, Prime Minister Dahal agreed to prove that he is a Hindu and slowly create an environment in Nepal regarding the Hindu nation. According to this agreement, Prime Minister Dahal was ready to worship in the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh in the attire of Panda (priest). For that, one hundred and eight kilos of rudraksha garlands were hurriedly ordered from Nepal. Agreed to proceed with the work of the Ramayana circuit. The Ramayana circuit rejects the issue of Chitwan, which Nepal has put forward as the birthplace of Ram. Former Prime Minister KP Oli has been saying that Ram was born in Chitwan, Nepal, not in Ayodhya, India.
Bharatiya Janata Party wants to return Nepal to a Hindu nation. India is troubled by the increasing Christian and Muslim activeness in Nepal. India has been interested in issues such as returning monarchy through the Hindu nation and abolishing federalism. On this visit, Prime Minister Dahal’s visit to Madhya Pradesh was decided on the issue of waste management. In the end, Dahal chose to become a devotee of Mahakaleshwar in order to please Modi. Dahal party leaders have been criticized for this issue, who ordered the destruction of the temple during the People’s War.
Another most important issue is the Chinese card played by Dahal. As the topics of discussion between the Prime Ministers of the two countries were not clear, Prime Minister Dahal expressed his desire to return to Nepal and visit China immediately. He said, “I even boycotted the Boao Forum for India. I have been working in favor of India more than I said. I broke the alliance with UML for India. Now it has become an insult to this level.”
Basnet immediately informed Ambassador Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma about the complaint made by Prime Minister Dahal to Minister of Water Resources Shakti Basnet at the Nepali Embassy. In addition, Basnet was interested in this matter with the Indian officials who were in contact with him. Nepali journalist Parshuram Kafle, who has made special contact with Indian leaders and journalists, also addressed Prime Minister Dahal’s complaints. He called Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and asked him to fix the situation.
Due to its closeness with China after the blockade of 2072, the Indian side understands that its position in Nepal is weak. Everyone had one opinion on the issue that the Chinese card introduced in between by Dahal would again put India in trouble in Nepal. As a result, after pressure from all sides, Prime Minister Modi contacted Prime Minister Dahal on the night of the 17th and assured that the issues that were not agreed upon in writing would be addressed in a press conference. Even Dahal wanted no more than this.
After the talks, the Prime Ministers of the two countries held a press conference. Even though Prime Minister Dahal seemed happy about the achievements of the visit, even a joint press note could not be issued. This also confirms that some issues of bilateral talks are limited to saving face. Regarding the achievement of the visit, UML President and former Prime Minister Oli commented that the visit did not achieve anything, except bringing 15 Murrah buffalo in the House of Representatives.
