Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has taken the initiative to address two of the country's most pressing challenges: mending ties with India and ending the prolonged parliamentary deadlock.
Lamichhane’s visit to India came at a time when New Delhi had expressed dissatisfaction over Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s remarks during a House of Representatives meeting on May 31.
Responding to lawmakers’ queries, Prime Minister Balendra Shah had said that England (the United Kingdom) should also take an interest in Nepal’s border dispute with India, given its historical link to the 1816 Sugauli Treaty.
The remarks drew an immediate response from India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the countries have established bilateral mechanisms to deal with all aspects of boundary matters, and that there should be no role for third parties in bilateral issues.
The day after the prime minister’s address, the RSP chief flew to New Delhi at the invitation of Nitin Nabin, head of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), where he held talks with senior party and government leaders.
During his visit, Lamichhane received a warm welcome and held high-level talks with Indian political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an effort to reassure New Delhi on bilateral issues.
Following his five-day visit from June 1 to 5, Lamichhane held consultations with Prime Minister Shah before initiating efforts to break the parliamentary deadlock.
Lamichhane met Prime Minister Shah on Sunday for lengthy discussions covering his India visit and the latest political developments.
By Monday morning, Lamichhane had convened an all-party meeting aimed at ending the impasse in the House.
This marked the first time the RSP had hosted an all-party meeting since emerging as the largest party in Parliament following the March 5 snap elections.
“The all-party meeting was called out of a sense of responsibility as a leader of the ruling coalition,” said Bipin Acharya, joint general secretary of the ruling RSP, who attended the meeting.
