Both the leaders took stock of the latest political situation and tried their best to convince Nepal´s political leadership not to defer the fresh Constituent Assembly (CA) election scheduled for November 19. [break]
“The important visits from both India and China at this critical juncture show that both our immediate neighbors are concerned about the upcoming CA election. It is definitely a good thing that there is a convergence in the position of both the neighbors,” said former Nepali ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Dr Dinesh Bhattarai.
As such, the top diplomats from China and India not only expressed their solidarity to the upcoming polls, but also pledged necessary support to make the CA polls a success. While China during the visit of Yang committed to provide a grant assistance of 10 million RMB to the Election Commission, Indian Foreign Minister Khurshid pledged to provide 764 vehicles of various types to EC and security agencies by October, while also assuring that India would stand ready to respond to any further requests for polls.
This kind of solidarity expressed by both the neighbors, say diplomats, gives a reason to believe that Nepal will soon be out of the protracted political transition that began after the Janaandolan II in April 2006 and subsequent declaration of Nepal as a federal democratic republic.
But since the visit of Indian Foreign Minister Khurshid was planned earlier, observers in Kathmandu see his visit this time around as a “reaction” to Yang Jiechi´s visit to Kathmandu. “It appears that India is making a counter move against China´s moves,” argued former Nepali ambassador to the United Nations in New York Prof Jayaraj Acharya. “I personally see this visit as reactive.” Minister Khurshid scheduled his visit to Kathmandu even as he had to cut short his originally scheduled two-day visit to less than nine hours.
Such an interpretation of Khurshid´s visit to Kathmandu comes in the wake of visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry during his recent visit to India on June 24 urging India to take a regional leadership in South Asia. As Nepal is an important country in South Asia, foreign affairs experts in Kathmandu see Khurshid´s visit as India´s overtures to keep its sphere of influence intact in Nepal.
Few others, however, beg to differ. “The perception in some Nepali circles of Mr. Khurshid´s visit to balance Yang Jeichi´s visit dents its significance and positive impact,” said SD Muni, considered to be one of the India´s foremost experts on Nepal, in his tweet on Monday. “Salman Khurshid´s visit to Nepal is a welcome sign of India´s commitment to holding a free and fair election in November.”
What remained unique of Khurshid visit, however, is a controversy related to protocol matter. While the same leaders, including former prime ministers, visited Hotel Soaltee to meet with visiting Yang (whose Nepalese counterpart was Foreign and Home Minister Madhav Prasad Ghimire), the meeting did not court any controversy.
But they courted controversy when they visited Hotel Dwarika, where Khurshid held a separate group meeting with leaders from various political parties.
“I do not see any reason to make hue and cry over the protocol matter. Issue of protocol becomes secondary when there are meetings of substance,” argued former envoy Dr Bhattarai, while suggesting not to take the meeting of political leaders with Minister Khurshid as an exception.
With support and goodwill from the international community and immediate neighbors, there is now a cautious optimism among ordinary people that the November polls will be a success. But since the outcome of the new CA is likely going to be very much the same and the positions each of the major political parties hold on key contentious issues remain unchanged, whether the new CA will be able to deliver a new constitution is still a big question.
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