Kathmandu, May 4
Former foreign minister and RPP leader Kamal Thapa says he is against the public felicitation of Indian Prime Minister Modi in Nepal.
Thapa, who was foreign minister during the 2015 Indian Blockade, says Modi should not be felicitated until he welcomes the new constitution and expresses regret over the Indian Blockade.
Thapa’s remarks come just a week before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to arrive in Janakpur in Province 2, where he will be felicitated by the local people.
“How does Prime Minister KP Oli justify such an action,” says Thapa ahead of the ‘religious’ visit, slated for May 11. “The news that Modi will receive a big welcome in Janakpur troubles me,” says the former minister.
“The Nepali people’s representatives made the constitution following the due process. The constitution may have its flaws, but Prime Minister Modi has not welcomed the constitution. Neither has he expressed regret for imposing a blockade on Nepal. Given all this, I think it is unnatural and unnecessary to felicitate him in Nepal,” Thapa says.
The blockade was inhumane and the wounds it caused will take time to heal, he added.
“I still remember the words of the Indian representative in Geneva when the representative was making negative and false comments about Nepal’s constitution. I also remember the words from the Indian leaders during my visit to India,” he noted.
Thapa also accused that India tried to spread false information about Nepal’s constitution in capitals such as Washington and Brussels and his government had to spend a lot of time and effort trying to debunk Indian propaganda.
