No controversial agreement will be signed with India: Prachanda

Kathmandu: Ahead of his India visit, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Sunday said that "no controversial agreement" will be signed during the four-day state visit this week.

"No agreement against national interest will be signed," he said at the International Relations and Labour Committee of the Legislature on Sunday, adding that "the visit is being undertaken by the Prime Minister of Nepal not Pushpa Kamal or Prachanda. So, such things cannot be thought of even."

But he said the India visit will open up new vistas of opportunity.

"My visit is a challenging opportunity. It will add new dynamism in bilateral ties," he said.

Prachanda is also under pressure from various quarters not to sign any controversial agreements during the visit.

"I'm confident that the visit would not only normalise the relations that experienced some bitterness in the past, but also build a strong foundation for mutual trust," he said.

The Prime Minister made it clear before the house panel that he would not be signing any new agreements, but reviewing and implementing the old agreements.

Additional support for post-quake reconstruction, purchase trade agreements related to hydropower, and the Postal Highway will be the matters to be discussed during the visit.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave for India on September 15 and return on September 18.

Prachanda told the committee members that he was scheduled to meet Nepalis in India, attend a reception at the Nepalese embassy in New Delhi and hold an interaction with foreign dignitaries on September 15.

There will be an official meeting on the second day when Prachanda will also visit a hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh state, and hold interaction with intellectuals soon after returning to New Delhi.

Prachanda is scheduled to visit the factory of Patanjali Yogpeeth run by Baba Ramdev on September 18 and return home the same day.

To lay the ground for the visit, Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat left for New Delhi on Sunday. He will meet Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other ministers, and discuss with them the agenda of the visit.