According to Dahal, an understanding had been reached with India during the second visit of Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa on endorsing the constitution amendment bill and forming a high level political body to resolve the delineation dispute.
During a press meet organized at the party office in Perisdanda on Monday, he said that Minister Thapa had apprised the leaders about the understanding with India following his visit.
“Many were expecting the unofficial blockade along the Nepal-India customs points to end after the endorsement of the amendment proposal, but I was not one of them,” Dahal said. “Unless a political mechanism is formed, the boundary disputes will persist. We have already seen that the blockade has not ended even after amending the constitution.”
The parliament endorsed the amendment bill amid the protest from agitating Madhes-based political parties on January 23. He, however, was hopeful that the blockade would end soon as the number of protesters at the major entry points along Nepal-India border were declining each day.
Recalling his last visit to India after the first draft of the new constitution was made public, Dahal said most of the Indian leaders had expressed concerns over provincial delineation issue. “During my latest visit to India, most of the Indian leaders were concerned about provincial demarcation,” he said. Dahal had visited India during the third week of July.
Dahal, who is also the coordinator of the high level political coordination committee formed to advise the government, said that Prime Minister K P Oli will not travel to India unless it eases the restrictions at the border. “As the situation in the country is uncomfortable and Nepal-India relation is not normal, we hope the prime minister will make his India trip only after the ongoing blockade ends,” he said. Asked if he had any regrets about visiting China before India after becoming the prime minister in 2008, Dahal said he had no regrets as it was necessity of that moment.
Defending the government, Dahal argued that success of any government should be judged only after taking the situation of the country fully into account. “As the country is facing abnormal situation due blockade and protests, ministers are failing to meet the expectations. I see no reason to blame any of them,” he said.
Dahal was of the view that national consensus government, also comprising of the Nepali Congress (NC), should be formed to deal with the existing crises in the country. “A national consensus government might be formed before or after the general convention of the Nepali Congress. KP Oli-led present government can be transformed into a national consensus one too,” said Dahal.
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