“India’s foreign minister threatened Nepal not to adopt constitution”: Former PM KP Oli

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy S Jaishankar had threatened the Nepali political leadership not to promulgate the Constitution and warned that it would not be accepted if it was done against India’s suggestions, said former Nepalese PM KP Sharma Oli.

Oli revealed this in the set of “political documents” submitted to the standing committee of the Communist Party of Nepal-UML on September 19, which marked the country’s seventh Constitution Day, reported The Hindu.

Nepal celebrates the promulgation of its Constitution on September 19.

“The Indian diplomat who arrived as a special emissary of the Prime Minister of India threatened the leaders of the political parties not to promulgate the Constitution and that it would not be accepted if it was done against India’s suggestions,” stated the document from Oli’s collection.

The papers also mentioned that Jaishankar said “the consequences would be negative,” as per the report.

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Nepal’s Constituent Assembly promulgated its new Constitution, which was framed by the elected representative body for the first time in September 2015 despite sparking protests in the southern Nepal districts adjoining India.

The adoption of the Constitution took place soon after Jaishankar, then Foreign Secretary, visited Kathmandu and met the leaders of various political parties including Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, the report suggested.

The document further stated that “the Indian government, which has been expressing dissatisfaction that its concerns have not been addressed since the drafting of the Constitution, had put pressure on the government not to adopt it.”

A six-month long protest was launched by Nepal’s Madhes-based parties, which claim to represent the interests of inhabitants of the southern Terai region who are mostly of Indian-origin, in the past to press for the Constitution amendment to address their demands in which nearly 60 people were killed.

Their demands included redrawing provincial boundaries, recognition of regional languages, addressing issues related to citizenship and representation in the National Assembly.

Speaking on the day, Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba underlined the need to protect and implement the country’s Constitution.

In his address to the nation, Deuba expressed pride over the promulgation of the Constitution six years ago by the representatives elected by the people. He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the country’s martyrs and remembered them for their supreme sacrifices.

In his speech, the PM underlined the need to protect and implement the Constitution.