By Our Reporter
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week provided him with a rare opportunity to renew his relations with Prime Minister Modi and other Indian leaders.
Dahal reached New Delhi on Sunday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Modi, who resumed the office of the largest democracy for a rare third term after the alliance he led won majority seats in the parliament. However, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which had secured majority seats in the Lok Sabha in the 2014 and 2019 elections, lost the majority this time. As a result, he is now leading a coalition government, which means he is not as powerful as he was in the last decade. Earlier, Jawaharlal Nehru had become the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term.
After Prime Minister Modi took the oath of office and secrecy in a lavish ceremony held at the Rastrapati Bhavan on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Dahal held talks with Modi.
Prime Minister Dahal congratulated Prime Minister Modi on assuming office for a third consecutive term. He expressed his belief that the relationship between Nepal and India would reach new heights during Prime Minister Modi’s new tenure. But other details of the talks were not made public.
PM Dahal also participated in the dinner hosted by Indian President Murmu on Sunday evening.
The Prime Minister paid a courtesy call on Indian President Draupadi Murmu on Monday. Dahal also met with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
PM Dahal also held talks with the newly appointed External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. Subrahmany Jaishankar on Monday.
In the meeting held at Hotel Taj, the two discussed issues relating to bilateral relations, cooperation and the implementation of past agreements and understandings between the two countries, according to Prime Minister Dahal’s secretariat.
PM Prachanda congratulated Jaishankar for his appointment as an External Affairs Minister of India and wished for a successful tenure while the Indian Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude to PM Prachanda and the Nepal government for attending the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Padam Giri, Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal and high-ranking officials during his visit to India, the Prime Minister utilised the opportunity to please the Indian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. In the new government, Jaishankar could be a major leader in India’s policy toward Nepal.
Upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday, Prime Minister Dahal also revealed that Nepal would be the second country to be visited by Modi after assuming the office for the third time. He said Modi would first visit Italy. It means PM Dahal left no stone unturned to please Modi during his two-day stay in New Delhi. While at home, Prime Minister Dahal is politically vulnerable because his government can collapse at any time once he develops a misunderstanding with coalition partners, mostly the CPN-UML boss KP Oli, he has been, somewhat, successful in receiving Indian support. However, India’s Nepal policy will not change only because Dahal and Modi have good relations. Instead, India may increase its influence further by taking advantage of Dahal’s weak position in Nepal.
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