On the first day of his visit, the PM remained busy in parleys with media persons and members of civil society, which includes his close friends in India from his student days.[break]
Upon arrival, Dr Bhattarai was received by Ruchira Khamboj, chief of protocol at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Indian ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad and joint-secretary (North) Akhilesh Mishra of the MEA.
At a function organized by the Nepal-India Democracy Solidarity Committee, Dr Bhattarai said India and Nepal should strengthen age-old ties and work on a “new development partnership.”
He also said that the two countries need to focus on improving the economy, reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality and discrimination of all kinds.
“This is a century of Asia as western economy is stagnating. Nepal wants good relations with both India and China and all our neighbors,” Bhattarai said.
Speaking on the peace process at a gathering organized by the South Asia Forum for Peoples´ Initiative, a civil society organization in Delhi, Bhattarai said, “The political actors in Nepal need to agree on the form of democracy -- whether we want a participatory one or otherwise.”
PM Bhattarai in India. (Photo: PMO)
He also said that Marxists have “failed to learn from the real situation facing people. “We must learn from the ongoing mass movements in South Asia,” Bhattarai said.
Bhattarai has for long propagated the concept of People´s Federation of South Asia.
Giving the occasion a personal touch, Baburam recalled his student days in Delhi. He said he wants to strengthen Nepal´s relation with India although he is branded as pro-India in Nepal and the UCPN (M) as anti-India.
PM Bhattarai at TIA, Kathmandu.
“People of India and Nepal have to unite because we have common destiny. Our fate is interlinked,” he said. The PM will be holding high-level talks with his Indian counterpart, president, and other senior leaders on Friday.
Swami Agnivesh, an Arya Samaj guru, who performed marriage rituals for Dr Baburam with Hisila Yami delivered a personal speech and said that success of peace process is in the interest of India and Nepal.
PM received by chief of protocol
Breaking with the tradition, PM Bhattarai was received at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by the chief of protocol at the ministry of external affairs. Earlier, both the then prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal were received by state ministers respectively. When asked to comment, the officials of the MEA declined to comment.
PM Bhattarai at TIA, Kathmandu.
PM Bhattarai at TIA, Kathmandu.
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