Aiming for Nepal’s recovery from more than five months of economic blockade, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who arrived on a six-day visit to India on Friday afternoon, is expected to seal crucial bilateral agreements on Saturday. However, official sources told The Hindu that the visit was primarily aimed at reassuring Nepal’s topmost leadership that India did not harbour any “negative intention” about Nepal’s stability and unity.
“This visit is a confidence-boosting step. It’s not just about agreements and accords. We want to remove the impression that some in Nepal have, that India somehow supports the internal problem between the Madhesis of Nepal’s Terai region and the government in Kathmandu”, said a diplomatic source.
Mr.Oli’s visit, however, began on a dramatic note when 40 Madhesi students from Nepal were detained by the Delhi police near the embassy of Nepal on Friday evening when they were trying to reach the public reception organised by the ambassador of Nepal. Earlier, another group of Madhesi students staged a protest outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
