Did nothing wrong in India visit: Nepal PM

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday rejected criticism of his remarks in New Delhi about amending Nepal’s Constitution by saying he had done nothing wrong during his state visit to India.

Deuba facing a backlash in Nepal after he said during a joint news conference with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday that he would “continue to push for” amending the Constitution.

The main opposition CPNUML and even the ruling CPNMaoist Center opposed the statement by Deuba, saying amending the Constitution is no longer an issue as a move in this regard had been rejected by Parliament.

They criticised Deuba, saying the amendment of the Constitution is purely Nepal’s internal matter and the prime minister should not have spoken about in front of Modi. Since the Constitution was promulgated in 2015, New Delhi has been pushing for it be amended to fulfill the demands of the Madhesi people, who live the Terai plains bordering India.

A day after his return from India, Deuba said while addressing the Parliament on Monday: “I have mentioned nothing about the internal matters of the country but the international community should know what is happening in Nepal.”

Deuba added, “Serious attention has been drawn to the remarks made by parties and leaders over my statement. Such unwarranted comments and remarks make no sense.”

Efforts are being made to make the Constitution acceptable to all by addressing grievances related to the statute, he said. On the other hand, the visit to India had been successful in taking bilateral relations forward and Nepal will benefit from this in the longterm, he said.