Posted by: deshbhaktanepali March 10, 2009
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Leaders' visit to Delhi kicks off controversy in Kathmandu
BY KESHAV P. KOIRALA
KATHMANDU, March 9 - Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam left for New Delhi on Monday but the government has kept his visit under wraps.
Gautam's son Harish Dev Gautam said the Deputy Prime Minister is on a trip for medical check up. He is suffering from the Bell's Palsy -- facial nerve paralysis -- and needs to undergo physiotherapy regularly. The minister is accompanied by his wife Tulasi Thapa and personal doctor Dr. Kiran Jung Kunwar.
Gautam went to the Apollo Hospital on Monday afternoon for medical check up and is currently staying at the Nepalese Embassy in Delhi, according to Harish.
“There is no political motive behind it and has no specific plans to meet with any Indian leader," he told ekantipur, quashing claims from senior Maoist leaders that a number of top non-Maoist leaders are getting together in New Delhi to engineer the downfall of the current government. Gautam is expected to return to Kathmandu by Wednesday.
His trip, scheduled two months ago, had to be cancelled “repeatedly owing to different reasons,†said NC's head of International Department Sujata Koirala. She said he will be seeing doctors at the Apollo and is likely to meet the Indian leaders to discuss the "many issues" on Nepal.
Surya Bahadur Thapa, another former prime minister and president of Rastriya Janashakti Party, is also all set to leave for Delhi. Thapa recently urged Koirala to lead a broader democratic alliance to counter the Maoist “authoritarianism.â€
Already, the CPN-UML leader and former DPM KP Oli, who got his kidney transplanted last year, is already in New Delhi for a “regular checkup.â€
The flurry of high-profile visits are timed with former king Gyanendra's extended stay in Delhi since his departure on Feb. 25 to attend a wedding ceremony in South India. The ex-king is said to be engaged in “political consultations†but details are sketchy about the nature of the discussions. With the credibility of his wayward son Paras in tatters, the ex-king is said to be lobbying leaders in India to revive “baby king†– enthronement of his five-year-old grandson Hridayendra -- in the world's youngest republic.
Gautam's son Harish Dev Gautam said the Deputy Prime Minister is on a trip for medical check up. He is suffering from the Bell's Palsy -- facial nerve paralysis -- and needs to undergo physiotherapy regularly. The minister is accompanied by his wife Tulasi Thapa and personal doctor Dr. Kiran Jung Kunwar.
Gautam went to the Apollo Hospital on Monday afternoon for medical check up and is currently staying at the Nepalese Embassy in Delhi, according to Harish.
“There is no political motive behind it and has no specific plans to meet with any Indian leader," he told ekantipur, quashing claims from senior Maoist leaders that a number of top non-Maoist leaders are getting together in New Delhi to engineer the downfall of the current government. Gautam is expected to return to Kathmandu by Wednesday.
Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has recently gone on record to state that plans afoot in the Indian capital to revive "baby king" in Nepal, whose 240-year old monarchy was consigned to oblivion in May 2008.
Nepali Congress (NC) President and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who has had intense parleys with different political parties in the past week, is also leaving for Delhi on Wednesday.His trip, scheduled two months ago, had to be cancelled “repeatedly owing to different reasons,†said NC's head of International Department Sujata Koirala. She said he will be seeing doctors at the Apollo and is likely to meet the Indian leaders to discuss the "many issues" on Nepal.
Surya Bahadur Thapa, another former prime minister and president of Rastriya Janashakti Party, is also all set to leave for Delhi. Thapa recently urged Koirala to lead a broader democratic alliance to counter the Maoist “authoritarianism.â€
Already, the CPN-UML leader and former DPM KP Oli, who got his kidney transplanted last year, is already in New Delhi for a “regular checkup.â€
The flurry of high-profile visits are timed with former king Gyanendra's extended stay in Delhi since his departure on Feb. 25 to attend a wedding ceremony in South India. The ex-king is said to be engaged in “political consultations†but details are sketchy about the nature of the discussions. With the credibility of his wayward son Paras in tatters, the ex-king is said to be lobbying leaders in India to revive “baby king†– enthronement of his five-year-old grandson Hridayendra -- in the world's youngest republic.
Courtesy: ekantipur.com