After cancelling Presidential visit, Nepal invites UDMF to mend fences with India

NEW DELHI: Attempting to mend fences with India after cancelling Presidential visit here and recalling its ambassador to Delhi, the Oli government has sent an invite to the aggrieved United Democratic Madhesi Front ( UDMF) for talks on the unfinished agenda of state boundaries.

Deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Kamal Thapa, who heads the government talks team, wrote a formal letter on Sunday to the UDMF, inviting its constituents for talks.

India too seeks time -bound solution to the principal demand of the agitating Madhesis for political stability in the Himalayan state. Stating that the government was committed to addressing the Madhesh grievances on the basis of dialogue and consensus, Thapa’s letter said the first two amendments to the Constitution were also made as per the understanding reached during the talks held between the government and the UDMF.

Thapa also wrote that the government had already formed a political mechanism to address the question of provincial boundaries. The Nepali DPM further said the Oli government viewed UDMF’s decision to change the forms of protest positively, adding that the participation of UDMF MPs in the Constituent Assembly and its committees was also a positive step.

Stating that all the political parties needed to join hands to accelerate the pace of reconstruction and economic development, Thapa urged the UDMF to come to the negotiating table in order to resolve the issues through dialogue.