New Delhi, July 18 (FN Agency)Former Prime Minister of Nepal and the Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sunday visited the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) headquarters in Delhi and met the BJP President JP Nadda. The visit of the former Nepalese Prime Minister to the BJP headquarters is part of the ‘Know the BJP’ initiative of the party to strengthen links with major political parties across the world. Prachanda was given a warm welcome by Nadda. Both the leaders had long discussions over various issues. In his address, the BJP President welcomed Prachanda’ and his daughter Ganga Dahal.Nadda said Nepal has always been at the centre of India’s neighbourhood first policy. Recent visit of Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to Delhi and the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lumbini has further strengthened the relationship between the two neighbours.
“Now his visit to the BJP headquarters is a major milestone in the growing relationship between the two major political parties,” Nadda said. The BJP President said “through the ‘Know the BJP’ initiative we are cementing our ties with all major political parties across the world. Our objective is to use the party-to-party ties to strengthen the bilateral relations. Shri Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ ji’s visit will further improve the connection between our two countries and societies,” he said. “We are ready to promote deeper linkages between the BJP and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) at multiple levels. We would be happy to welcome a delegation of the young leaders of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) to India soon. “In his address Prachanda thanked the BJP and Nadda for inviting him to the party headquarters and giving him a warm welcome. He said though both parties have different ideologies, both have common objectives which is to uplift the poor sections of the society.
He also thanked India for extending support during the earthquake and Covid pandemic to Nepal.Highlighting that hydropower and tourism are two important pillars of Nepal’s economy, he appealed to the Indian government and private sector to co-operate with Nepal in these two important sectors. He also appreciated the fact that India is now buying power from Nepal.Prachanda said trade deficit with India is a matter of concern which needs to be addressed. “All outstanding issues should be resolved in the spirit of mutual trust and friendship,” he added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and party’s Foreign Affairs Department In-charge Vijay Chauthaiwala were also present during the visit. After the interaction, Nadda took Prachanda on a tour of the BJP headquarters. Nadda showed him the central conference room where Parliamentary Board meetings are convened. Also he visited the library, media rooms and tried to understand the functioning of the media department. He also met the farmer leaders who had assembled at the BJP headquarters to congratulate Nadda for the selection of Jagdeep Dhankhar as the Vice-President candidate.