India asks Nepal to resolve differences via peaceful dialogue

[Vikrant]

I think it is better to include all people's concern when building the constitution.

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Expressing concern over the violent situation in several parts of Nepal along the Indian border, India today asked the country to resolve differences through dialogue free from violence which would enable broad-based ownership and acceptance.

Noting the promulgation of the new Constitution in Nepal, the External Affairs Ministry said India extends best wishes to the people of the country.

“Throughout the process of Constitution-making in Nepal, India has supported a federal, democratic, republican and inclusive Constitution. We note the promulgation in Nepal on Sunday of a Constitution.

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India asks Nepal to resolve differences via peaceful dialogue

 

[Vikrant]

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More than 40 people have been killed following protests by groups from the low-lying plains adjoining India.

India has called its ambassador to Nepal back to Delhi for urgent talks.

The new constitution, adopted last week, defines the majority Hindu nation as a secular republic divided into seven federal provinces.

The document was unveiled after years of political wrangling.

The protests have been carried out by minority ethnic groups in the south in recent weeks.

They are concerned that changes to the borders and election rules will further marginalise them.

Women's groups and Hindu groups are also unhappy with the constitution.

Reports say at least three people were injured when police opened fire on an anti-constitution protest in the city of Biratnagar on Monday.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder reports India is concerned that the violence could spill over into its own territory.

In its statement Delhi said it had repeatedly cautioned Nepal's political leadership to take urgent steps to defuse tension in the country's southern plains, which adjoin India.

It added that it had consistently argued that all sections of Nepalese society must reach a political consensus and that their differences could not be resolved by force.

India's ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae, also arrived in Delhi on Monday for day-long consultations, Indian foreign ministry officials told the Reuters news agency.

The strong reaction came after India failed to convince the Nepal government to delay adopting the constitution until it reached an agreement with those opposing it.

The people in the plains make up almost 40% of Nepal's population and they fear that new provincial boundaries will lead to them being marginalised.

India concern over Nepal violence following new constitution - BBC News

 

[Vikrant]

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India has reason to worry about Nepal’s Terai region. More than 40 people have died in the violent protests that have roiled the region for more than a month, threatening stability across the open border in Bihar, the eastern Indian state slated to hold elections next month. As Nepal’s historically, culturally and politically closest neighbor, India has long played a role in defining political developments in the Himalayan nation, including the 2005 pact between the traditional political parties and the former Maoist rebels that set the course for the abolition of the monarchy and the writing of the new constitution.

In India, the new Nepalese Constitution is being portrayed in the media as a “snub” in particular to Prime Minister Modi, who has invested significant energy in Nepal affairs since coming to power. He had emphasized the need for the new constitution to be inclusive. India was among the first countries to rush aid to Nepal after the massive earthquake in April and is the leading donor country for the reconstruction.

India’s Curt View on Nepal’s New Constitution

 

[Vikrant]

NEW DELHI: Nepal prime minister Sushil Koirala has cancelled his visit to the UN general Assembly to stay back and find a solution to the political crisis and spiraling violence in Nepal's Terai region - a fallout of the controversial provisions in the new Nepal Constitution.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu was sending out peace signals to India. Nepal ambassador Deep Upadhayay told TOI: "Prime Minister Modi has not yet spoken. I am confident he will be able to handle it properly. After his visits (to Nepal), the scenario has changed a lot between our countries. There is only positivity of the Nepali people for India."

Upadhyay asserted that India had not prescribed any changes in the Nepal constitution. Earlier on Wednesday, MEA official spokesperson had also denied this: "Without being prescriptive on specific clauses, and as already stated earlier, we continue to urge that issues on which there are differences should be resolved through dialogue."

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As crisis deepens, Nepal sends peace signals to India, banks on PM Modi - The Times of India