No link between India trip & constitution amendment: Nepal PM

TIL Desk/World/Kathmandu-On the eve of his maiden visit to India, Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda expressed his government’s commitment on amending the new Constitution to make it acceptable to all sides and said that his trip to New Delhi was not linked to it. “There is no connection between my India visit and the matter relating to constitution amendment,” Prachanda said while talking with the leaders of agitating Madhesi parties and ethic groups at the Prime Minister’s office.

Prachanda will travel to New Delhi tomorrow for a four-day goodwill visit, his first foreign visit after assuming power some six weeks ago. Constitution amendment is “our internal matter and we will resolve the issue within the country” by holding political dialogue, he said.

“My India visit is a diplomatic issue aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries,” he said. Gap between the government and the agitating United Madhesi Front on the issue of constitution amendment has been narrowed down, he said, adding that both the sides should create an environment of trust for resolving the matter. “The government is serious about making the constitution acceptable to all sides,” the Prime Minister said.