Maoists warn of mass agitation in Nepal

Updated on Saturday, August 15, 2009, 17:18 IST

Kathmandu: Ahead of Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's visit to India, Maoists on Saturday warned of a mass agitation if any agreement on the Pancheshwor hydropower project is reached with New Delhi during the trip.

Senior Maoist leader C P Gajurel said the Pancheshwor Project is a part of the Mahakali Integrated Treaty, signed in 1996 between the then Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Indian counterpart P V Narasimha Rao in 1996, "which is a treacherous treaty".

"The Mahakali Treaty needs to be reviewed. If Prime Minister Nepal reaches any agreement with India to forward the Pancheshwor it will fuel our party's ongoing agitation," he said.

Maoists have launched a month-long agitation to uphold "civilian supremacy" and to "rectify" the President's move to reinstate Army chief.

"Instead of discussing extradition treaty, which is not Nepal's priority, we should take up the issue of resolving Bhutanese refugees with India. The issue of 120,000 Bhutanese refugees residing in eastern Nepal nearly for two decides is a burning issue, not the extradition treaty," he said.

Addressing a function, Gajurel said the government should not reach any agreement to import arms from India. "If the government decides to acquire arms from India, at this point the peace process may be derailed," he said.

"This will be the violation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to import arms from India at a time when we are engaged in building peace in the country," he said.

Gajurel also asked Prime Minister Nepal not to sign any agreement regarding boundary map, saying India side has encroached border at 58 points.

Speaking at the programme, Nepali Congress leader Prakash Sharan Mahat said Pancheshwor Project is in the interests of Nepal.

"India has adopted most flexible attitude towards the Pancheshwor Project in terms cost sharing, constructing dam, water rights and opening office of the project in Nepalese side, so we should not lose this opportunity," he said.

"There are certain groups in India, which are launching campaigning against the Pancheshwor saying that it is more at the interest of Nepal than India and the Maoists might have been influenced by them," he said.

He said Nepal government is not going to import arms from India.

Bureau Report