Nepal Constitution News

Nepal’s Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak on Sunday said a consensus of all political parties will be ensured to amend the Constitution.

MEA spokesperson Gopal Bagley said India wants an inclusive Constitution by taking people of different segments on board.

Nepal's economy was wrecked by last year's devastating quake.

Underlining the urgency to unite despite differences in ethnicity and caste, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday said till the time Tharus and Madhesis are not taken into confidence, atmosphere for implementing the new Constitution cannot be created.

On the eve of his maiden visit to India, Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda on Wednesday 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.

India on Saturday conveyed to Nepal that success of its new Constitution will depend on resolution of contentious issues through "consensus and dialogue" in a time-bound manner as both sides held extensive talks with focus on repairing ties soured in the wake of a four-month -long agitation by the Indian-origin Madhesi community.

Cargo trucks drove through a border crossing in Nepal for the first time in months on Friday, police said, following a blockade that has caused a crippling shortage of fuel and vital supplies across the landlocked country.

Over 50 people have died the last five months in the agitation by Madhesi people demanding more representation.

The 10-day protest campaign will start from January 12, said leaders of the front.

The crackdown against Madhesis by the Nepal government will only push the movement towards further violence, an advocate said.

Senior Madhesi leader Rajendra Mahato has sustained injuries in a clash with the Nepal Police during protest in Jogbani area near India-Nepal border last evening.

The minister also clarified that there was no blockade of Nepal by India.

The Ministry of Home Affairs of Nepal has asked the forces to take all possible action against the Madhesi agitators. 

India has not blocked transport of essential supplies to Nepal, the government reiterated on Thursday.

Vikas Swarup said India was awaiting the report from Nepalese government on the killing of an Indian during a protest in Birganj.

China is closely following the situation in Nepal, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

During the telephonic conversation, PM Modi expressed concern over the incident and requested for details.

Amid an unease creeping into Nepal-India ties following protests over the Himalayan nation's newly-promulgated constitution, its Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa would arrive in New Delhi on a three-day visit from October 17.

Nepal's new Prime Minister will be elected on Sunday through voting in Parliament after political parties failed to forge consensus, it was announced on Friday, amid continued protests and blockade of a key border trade point with India over the country's new Constitution.

The Nepal government on Friday formed a three-member panel to talk with India to end the current political and diplomatic standoff.