The latest visit by the leader of the Foreign Affairs department of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to Nepal is expected to open a new level of interaction among the political parties of Nepal and India, leaders on both sides have remarked. Dr. Vijay Chauthaiwale’s visit to Kathmandu earlier this month took place after Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla held a discussion with his counterpart in Nepal on November 26 during a two-day visit, which helped in normalising relationship with Nepal after months of turmoil.
During his visit to Kathmandu, Mr. Chauthaiwale met with Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel. Following the meeting held last week, Mr. Chauthaiwale said on social media, “It’s a pleasure to be in Kathmandu on the invitation of general secretary of Nepal Communist Party and Finance Minister Shri Bishnu Paudel ji.”
The visit was significant as the ruling Nepal Communist Party has been at loggerheads with several leaders of the BJP in U.P. and Bihar. This tussle was complicated further because of certain remarks by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Mr. Chauthaiwale’s outreach found support from D. Raja of the Communist Party of India, who has been a part of the political dialogue between India and Nepal over the last two decades. “It’s a welcome sign. There should not be any bar on the communication among political parties between the two sides. We have always maintained frank discussion with Nepalese political parties, cutting across ideological lines. This was interrupted only in the most recent years because of political obstructions from certain sides,” Mr. Raja said, emphasising the need for dialogue between the political parties of India and Nepal.
Relations between Kathmandu and Delhi have been disturbed because of the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh dispute , which erupted after Nepal asserted its claim over the region that was part of the new political map of India published in November 2019. The visit by Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane and that of Research & Analysis Wing chief Samant Goel took place in this backdrop, which led to the visit of Foreign Secretary Shringla.
Mr. Raja said the process of normalisation of ties will be helped if political parties in both countries maintain open communication with each other. “There should not be any hypocrisy in this,” he added.
