Kathmandu, The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) on Thursday said the landlocked Himalayan nation can only achieve economic prosperity by maintaining close friendly relations with India, stating that it will not allow any activities directed against the southern neighbor from Nepalese soil.
The comments by a senior leader of the party led by former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli came on the eve of a vote of confidence in Parliament that could see him return once again as prime minister of the fragile Himalayan nation.
"The CPN-UML does not believe that Nepal can progress or that the interests of the Nepalese people can be promoted by pursuing an anti-India policy," he said in an interview. He said party president Oli wants to lead relations between Nepal and India at a new level according to the demands of the 21st century.
"We believe that we can only attract more foreign investment, promote trade and achieve economic prosperity by maintaining close friendly relations with India," he said. "We consider India an important neighbor and will not allow any anti-India activities on our soil."
Oli is known for his pro-China stance and it would be interesting to see how he maintains close ties with both neighbors if he becomes prime minister after ousting Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" after Friday's test in the House of Representatives. Representatives."Our party has a clear vision of not allowing any activity directed against another neighbor by siding with a neighbor," Bhattarai said.
Although there are some problems in bilateral relations due to some provisions of the 1950 treaty, the border dispute, flooding of land in the border areas and the growing trade deficit, the CPN-UML wants to resolve them through dialogue, he said.
"We can solve all our problems by sitting together and having friendly talks," he added. Ties between the two countries came under severe strain in 2020 after Kathmandu released a new political map showing the three Indian territories (Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh) as part of Nepal.
The then Prime Minister Oli attempted to use the issue to defend himself against growing internal pressure and challenge his leadership.
In the past, Oli had publicly criticized India for allegedly interfering in Nepal's internal affairs. Nepal, a landlocked country, is largely dependent on India for transportation of goods and services. Nepal is also important to India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.
Nepal shares a border of more than 1,850 kilometers with five Indian states: Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
"We firmly believe that a stable, prosperous, peaceful and developed Nepal will also benefit India," Bhattarai said. "However, we would also like to make it clear that our relations will be based on non-intervention in internal affairs and the promotion of national interest." "We want to advance on the path of development and prosperity by taking the trust of our neighbors," he added. .
Replying to a question, Bhattarai said, "Until there is political stability, we cannot achieve economic prosperity and develop the country. Therefore, the main purpose behind the change in the coalition government is to bring stability, prosperity and promote good government controlling corruption."
The Oli-led CPN-UML, the largest party in the ruling coalition, withdrew support for the Prachanda-led government last week after signing a power-sharing agreement with the House's largest party, the Nepali Congress. to replace the former Maoist leader.The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the 275-member House of Representatives, currently has 88 seats, while the CPN-UML has 79 seats. Their combined strength of 167 is far more than the 138 seats needed for a majority in the lower house. Prachanda's Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Centre) has 32 seats.
Prachanda is likely to miss the floor test on Friday.
"The Prachanda-led government was very unstable as Prachanda changed his allegiance from one party to another three times in a year and a half and this time he wanted to make an alliance with the Nepali Congress by sidelining the UML, which we did not allow." Bhattarai said. "The 2022 parliamentary elections gave a hung parliament, no party could obtain a majority normally with the current electoral system where only 60 percent of members of Parliament are directly elected and the rest are elected through the proportional voting system or based on the total votes obtained by party,” he stated.
"Therefore, NC and UML have agreed in principle to change the current electoral system through a constitutional amendment," Bhattari said while speaking about the need for a change in the government leadership. "But at the same time, we want to ensure that all the characteristic themes such as inclusion, the republican system, federalism and secularism will remain intact."
"Without political stability, we cannot meet the aspirations of the people and bring about concrete changes in their lives and that is not possible in the current circumstances. Therefore, UML and NC have agreed to amend the constitution to introduce the necessary changes in the system election," Bhattarai added. .
The comments by a senior leader of the party led by former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli came on the eve of a vote of confidence in Parliament that could see him return once again as prime minister of the fragile Himalayan nation.
"The CPN-UML does not believe that Nepal can progress or that the interests of the Nepalese people can be promoted by pursuing an anti-India policy," he said in an interview. He said party president Oli wants to lead relations between Nepal and India at a new level according to the demands of the 21st century.
"We believe that we can only attract more foreign investment, promote trade and achieve economic prosperity by maintaining close friendly relations with India," he said. "We consider India an important neighbor and will not allow any anti-India activities on our soil."
Oli is known for his pro-China stance and it would be interesting to see how he maintains close ties with both neighbors if he becomes prime minister after ousting Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" after Friday's test in the House of Representatives. Representatives."Our party has a clear vision of not allowing any activity directed against another neighbor by siding with a neighbor," Bhattarai said.
Although there are some problems in bilateral relations due to some provisions of the 1950 treaty, the border dispute, flooding of land in the border areas and the growing trade deficit, the CPN-UML wants to resolve them through dialogue, he said.
"We can solve all our problems by sitting together and having friendly talks," he added. Ties between the two countries came under severe strain in 2020 after Kathmandu released a new political map showing the three Indian territories (Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh) as part of Nepal.
The then Prime Minister Oli attempted to use the issue to defend himself against growing internal pressure and challenge his leadership.
In the past, Oli had publicly criticized India for allegedly interfering in Nepal's internal affairs. Nepal, a landlocked country, is largely dependent on India for transportation of goods and services. Nepal is also important to India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.
Nepal shares a border of more than 1,850 kilometers with five Indian states: Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
"We firmly believe that a stable, prosperous, peaceful and developed Nepal will also benefit India," Bhattarai said. "However, we would also like to make it clear that our relations will be based on non-intervention in internal affairs and the promotion of national interest." "We want to advance on the path of development and prosperity by taking the trust of our neighbors," he added. .
Replying to a question, Bhattarai said, "Until there is political stability, we cannot achieve economic prosperity and develop the country. Therefore, the main purpose behind the change in the coalition government is to bring stability, prosperity and promote good government controlling corruption."
The Oli-led CPN-UML, the largest party in the ruling coalition, withdrew support for the Prachanda-led government last week after signing a power-sharing agreement with the House's largest party, the Nepali Congress. to replace the former Maoist leader.The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the 275-member House of Representatives, currently has 88 seats, while the CPN-UML has 79 seats. Their combined strength of 167 is far more than the 138 seats needed for a majority in the lower house. Prachanda's Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Centre) has 32 seats.
Prachanda is likely to miss the floor test on Friday.
"The Prachanda-led government was very unstable as Prachanda changed his allegiance from one party to another three times in a year and a half and this time he wanted to make an alliance with the Nepali Congress by sidelining the UML, which we did not allow." Bhattarai said. "The 2022 parliamentary elections gave a hung parliament, no party could obtain a majority normally with the current electoral system where only 60 percent of members of Parliament are directly elected and the rest are elected through the proportional voting system or based on the total votes obtained by party,” he stated.
"Therefore, NC and UML have agreed in principle to change the current electoral system through a constitutional amendment," Bhattari said while speaking about the need for a change in the government leadership. "But at the same time, we want to ensure that all the characteristic themes such as inclusion, the republican system, federalism and secularism will remain intact."
"Without political stability, we cannot meet the aspirations of the people and bring about concrete changes in their lives and that is not possible in the current circumstances. Therefore, UML and NC have agreed to amend the constitution to introduce the necessary changes in the system election," Bhattarai added. .
