Nepal implementing constitution thru elections: President Bhandari

2017-04-18 20:20:23.0

(Special correspondent Bharat KC)
New Delhi (India), April 18: Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh called on President Bidya Devi Bhandari at the Rastrapati Bhawan here today. President Bhandari is currently on a five-day State Visit of India.
During the meeting, President Bhandari said Nepal and India enjoy cultural, religious and social relations, and that her visit would further deepen the friendship between the two countries. She also stressed that the inclusive constitution drafted after a big political change in Nepal has established the rights of women and the backward communities. And the government is currently working to implement it through the elections so as to translate the provisions into action, according to Foreign Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat.
In the meetings held separately, Minister Swaraj and Minister Singh said mutual trust and goodwill had developed between Nepal and India, and added that the Government of India would always stand in favour of Nepal's interest and development. On the occasion, Minister Singh inquired about the constitution and elections, to which Foreign Minister, who was present in the meeting, said that the government was working to hold elections by representing the sentiment of all sides as per the constitutional provision to hold three-tier elections within a year.
Foreign Minister Swaraj said that the Indian Prime Minister too wished that the reconstruction and overall development projects in Nepal were completed as soon as possible, Dr Mahat said.
Minister Swaraj shared that she had been acquiring information about the India-supported development projects in Nepal from the concerned officials every month and brief the Indian Prime Minister about this, said Foreign Minister Dr Mahat. Minister Mahat said that the bilateral mechanism has been providing progress details about the projects.
Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Sita Devi Yadav, Nepali Ambassador to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Foreign Affairs Expert at the Office of the President, Dr Madan Kumar Bhattarai, President's Chief Personal Secretary, Bheshraj Adhikari, Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, Shanker Das Bairagi, Chief of Protocol Deepak Adhikari, among others were present on the occasion.
Earlier, a contingent of the Indian Army presented a Guard of Honour to President Bhandari at the premises of Office of the Indian President.
President Bhandari's counterpart Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other Indian high ranking officials were present.
Also today, President Bhandari paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, the cremation site of Gandhi.

Visiting the Yamuna Biodiversity Park at Wazirabad, President Bhandari planted a sapling of Mahuwa (Madhuca longifolia) plant today itself. RSS (Photos available)