Make Constitution more inclusive, India to tell Nepal PM Oli

India will prod Nepal to complete the “unfinished task” of making the new Nepalese Constitution more inclusive when its Prime Minister KP Oli arrives on his maiden visit to New Delhi on Friday to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Adopting a “test and verify” approach with the new leadership in Nepal, India is “relatively satisfied” with the steps taken by the government there to assuage the concerns of the Indian-origin Madhesi community by including two key amendments to the Constitution. It now wants the political establishment in the Himalayan nation to show “wisdom and maturity” to find a solution to pending issues through dialogue.

Terming the inclusion of two amendments – participation in the state organs on proportional basis and delineation of electoral constituencies – in the Constitution as “positive developments”, the sources, however, said, “there are unfinished tasks which need to be completed and some more distance to be covered” for an inclusive Constitution.

The two amendments were incorporated after months of agitation by Indian-origin Madhesis of the Terai region, demanding greater protection of their rights under the new Constitution. The Madhesis had enforced a nearly five-month blockade on the Indo-Nepal border, crippling essential supplies, before calling it off earlier this month.

While Kathmandu accused India of imposing a “blockade” in a bid to pressurise it  to accept the demands of Madhesis, the government here maintained it was “natural to externalise the internal problems”. 

Denying that India was “prescriptive” while dealing with the Himalayan nation, sources said there were some “concerns” which needed to be addressed and asserted that a “stable and peaceful” Nepal was what New Delhi wanted.

There is also a feeling here that Nepal’s “China card” and its “perceived impact” on Indo-Nepal ties has not worked as was evident from the fact that Oli was making his first official visit after assuming charge to India. Oli will be here on a State visit for six days during which he will hold extensive talks with Modi on a host of key issues.