Nepal communist leader’s remark irresponsible
Many statements emanating from Kathmandu in recent weeks, blaming New Delhi for the disruption of essential goods flowing from India to Nepal from the border points, have done little to revive the warmth between India and Nepal. But the most damaging and irresponsible remark has been made by Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and senior Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-leninist) leader CP Mainali. He has accused India of conspiring to dismember the Terai region from Nepal and add it to India. The CPN(UMl)'s dislike for India is well-known, as is its penchant for New Delhi-bashing. But there is a limit to nonsense. The unrest in the Terai is entirely because of Kathmandu's failure to take the ethnic communities of Nepal on board while framing and promulgating the Constitution. The CPN(UMl), as well as the other parties, such as the Nepali Congress and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), were aware that there would be street agitations by the Madhesis, the Tharus and the Janjatis, since the latter believe the Constitution had short-changed their interests. And yet, the regime went ahead. Therefore, India cannot be blamed for the unrest. On the contrary, had Nepal's political leadership heeded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's well-meaning advice that the Constitution must satisfy all sections of society, the crisis would never have erupted. Indian goods vehicles, carrying essential items such as fuel, got stranded on the key border posts because of the violence across the line. The police and other security agencies in Nepal were clearly unable to tackle that, and they were in no position to offer safe passage to the vehicles and the people who were bringing the supplies. In this grim situation, how could the goods from India reach NepalIJ New Delhi's critics claim that India has been fuelling the agitation because Madhesis are of Indian-origin. This is downright mischievous, since India gains nothing from chaos and killing in a country with which it shares open borders. After all, there is every chance that the agitation's fallout can spill over here. To that extent, New Delhi has valid reasons to feel upset over the developing situation, and that is why it has been nudging the Nepalese leadership to arrive at a solution soon. Also, for senior Nepalese politicians to say that the Madhesis are guided and goaded by New Delhi, is to question the loyalty of a community which has contributed enormously to the well-being of Nepal.
It is possible that Mr Mainali's remarks are his own and do not reflect the Government of Nepal's thinking. If that is the case, then the KPS Oli Government must set the record straight. This is important if the few tentative steps that have been taken in recent weeks — such as the visit to India of Nepal's other Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa are to become meaningful. If Prime Minister Oli does not clear the air, things can get from bad to worse.