India supports Nepal's new constitution: Foreign secretary

Kathmandu: India on Saturday expressed the hope that Nepal's political leaders will display flexibility and maturity to ensure a durable and resilient constitution.

India's Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, who is here as a special envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said India was strongly supportive of Nepal's constitution-making process.

"India has been strongly supportive of constitution-making in Nepal. We would like its completion to be an occasion for joy and satisfaction, not agitation and violence," he said in a statement.

"We hope that Nepal's political leaders will display the necessary flexibility and maturity at this crucial time to ensure a durable and resilient constitution that has broad-based acceptance," he added.

During his visit, Jaishankar met KP Sharma Oli, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist); Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist); Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress and leaders of Madhesh-based political parties, according to the statement.

The statement came a day ahead of the new constitution coming into force.