Kathmandu, June 22
Nepal and China mentioned in their joint statement issued on the occasion of Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to Beijing that “The Nepali side expressed its confidence that under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Chinese people will realize the two centenary goals and build China a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.”
The mention of this political ideology in the statement issued by the two governments has sparked a new debate in Nepali political sphere as non-communist parties including main opposition Nepali Congress and Rastriya Prajatantra Party have objected to the point.
Nepali Congress’ Joint General Secretary Prakash Sharan Mahat, who once served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs here, says the Prime Minister, as the leader of the country, should not have expressed his endorsement of the political thought in the official statement thought Nepal does not object to the ideology.
He also objected to reports that Oli visited the headquarters of Communist Party of China and delivered a lecture there.
Oli’s Nepal Communist Party’s spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha, however, defends the statement, claiming what happened in Beijing was just natural.
“There is nothing to hide. Our Prime Minister is also the Chairman of Nepal Communist Party. The chair of a communist party visiting the office of another communist party and expressing his opinions about the communist movement is normal. Our friends should understand that there is a communist party’s government in Nepal.”
Former Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya says Oli’s activities should be taken as a normal courtesy because all state mechanisms in China are government by the communist party and other leaders visiting China would also visit the party headquarters.
