 |
| |
VOL. 27, NO. 34, May 09, 2008 (Baishakh 27 2065 B.S.)
|
|
Twists and Turns
A visiting Indian leader says reviewing 1950 Treaty will be an agenda for government elected after new constitution is drafted
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
The issue of reviewing Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950 has flashed periodically in the last many decades.
The issue has come into prominence, particularly during the political transitional phases in Nepal.
This time, too, the issue has hugged the limelight. And it was the demand by Maoist chairman Prachanda – who is expected to lead the next government – for its abrogation that catapulted the issue into prominence.
However, a senior Indian communist leader who is seen to have worked closely with Nepalese politicians including Maoist leadership in the last three years since November, 2005 signing of 12-point agreement in New Delhi, has said that the issue of the treaty review will become an agenda only after a new government is elected under the new constitution that will be written by Constituent Assembly (CA).
 |
Yechury: Twists and Turns |
Sitaram Yechury, senior leader of Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M), has said that the issue is better left for the elected government that will be formed after the new election is held under the new constitution written by the CA.
"Our party CPI-M has called for review in the treaty since way back in 1990. But I think this issue will become an agenda for the elected governments," he said.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi, voices of 'sympathy' have been expressed towards the demand posed by Prachanda regarding the treaty.
Last week, Indian foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said that India is willing to review the 1950 Treat of Peace and Friendship between Nepal and India.
"They have spoken about replacing it or changing it in order to bring the relationship to a new and higher level. We will be happy to work with Nepal to that aim,'' Menon told reporters.
The CPI-M, a key supporter of the ruling coalition in New Delhi, last week backed the demand for renegotiation of the 1950 Treaty and said there should be no treaty which is unequal.
If there were any areas in the Indo-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty which needed to be re-negotiated it should be done, CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said, according to Press Trust of India. "Yes, I think that demand has to be considered. Earlier also when the Indo-Nepal treaty was reviewed we had a detailed position," he told a press conference after the party's politburo meeting. "We have always said that big countries or small countries, it does not mean we should have treaty which will be unequal," he said.
Significantly, noting that re-negotiating the Indo-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty should not be difficult, former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra – who held that position during the rule of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - has said the new agreement would also be based on reciprocity, with both sides gaining from it.
"I don't think it should be difficult at all. We have never said that Nepal is not a sovereign, independent country. It has its own requirements. We have our own requirements. Obviously, the new treaty will also be based on reciprocity," Mishra said in an interview with Karan Thapar on the CNBC 18 program `India Tonight'.
Observing that both countries would gain from it, he said, "I don't consider the abrogation or renegotiation of the treaty as a disaster for India. It's not," Mishra said.
"We should take advantage of a re-negotiation to improve the conditions of our people and Nepal about which we have had lots of problems in the past," he said.
To a question on whether the victory of the Maoists posted a threat to India, he said he did not think it was a cause of threat or concern, but added that the new situation would require a great deal of reappraisal between the relations of the two countries. He, however, added: "Fundamentally, the relationship between the two countries is not going to alter. There may be some reservations on the part of the new government about certain aspects of the relationship. But it is not going to turn inimical," Mishra said.
