The Nepali Congress, the oldest political party in Nepal credited with bringing democracy in 1950-51 and suffering unspeakable tortures at the hands of the Ranas first and then King Mahendra in particular later, has strongly reacted to the statement issued in New Delhi by three leftist leaders objecting to the projection of their president and currently Nepal'shead of State and the Government Girija Prasad Koirala as the President of the Republic of Nepal.
Three leftist leaders of India, Sitaram Techury of the CPI-M, D. Raja of the CPI and D.P. Tripathi of the Nationalist Congress Party had issued a statement a couple of days ago suggesting that Shri G.P. Koirala should not become President of Nepal and suggesting, by implication, that the Maoists should head the Republic.
?Such statements appeared in newspapers in the name of CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, NCP leader D.P. Tripathi and CPI leader D. Raja are interference in Nepal'ssovereignty, national unity and independence,? the International Relations Department of the Party said in a press statement issued on June 16 in Kathmandu.
The statement added: ?We request leaders to be sensitive towards another independent country'sinternal affairs and respect the Nepali people'sright to decide who should form a government and how under the interim Constitution?
?The International Relations Department condemns in strongest words the remarks made by the leaders against the supreme leader of Nepal'sdemocratic movement, Girija Prasad Koirala,? the statement also added.
The Indian leaders had criticised Koirala for sticking to the office of the Prime Minister instead of handing it over to Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
The Kantipur Daily, which published the statement, commented that ?besides politicians across the border, the Indian Ambassador to Nepal (Shri Rakesh Sood) has also been airing his views publicly on government formation here.
It is true that Shri Sood has been meeting many political leaders frequently, particularly Shri Dahal. This has been noticed by several newspapers of Kathmandu.
These meetings take place obviously under instructions from New Delhi. However, there have been adverse reporting on these meetings in the media there.
Almost all major political parties of Nepal, including the Maoists, have been interacting with Government of India functionaries. It is well known that the Government of India had facilitated the ?clandestine? visit of Prachanda, the Maoist leader, to India in February 2005 who gave a long interview to a leading newspaper of India. It had also hosted the meeting of seven political parties of Nepal including the Maoists in November 2006 before they signed the 12-point agreement for conducting the future political activities.
Even the Nepali Congress was founded in India in 1950 and at times of distress its leaders had been taking shelter in this country for prolonged periods particularly during 1970 to 1990.
Nevertheless, they had always been loyal to their motherland and remonstrated against any indication of Indian interference in their internal affairs.
The best example of this mindset had come when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had made a statement during a debate in Parliament on November 27, 1959 saying ?any aggression against Bhutan and Nepal would be regarded as aggression against India?.
This statement had created a furore in Nepal. Prime Minister B.P Koirala, who was a true friend of India, could not but react in these words: ?I take Mr. Nehru'sstatement as an expression of friendship that in case of aggression against Nepal, India would send help if such help is ever sought. It could never be taken as suggesting that India take unilateral action?. B.P. Koirala had added: ?Nepal was at peace with everybody and did not apprehend any aggression from any quarter. He had also stated emphatically that in the event of Nepalese border being violated, Nepal and not India, would decide if there had been any aggression. Prime Minister Nehru agreed that Shri Koirala was ?entirely correct? (Nepal India, Democracy in the making of mutual trust: Dinesh Bhattarai and Pradip Khatiwada.
