No clear picture yet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Janakpur visit

NEW DELHI: A day after reports that Modi cancelled his trip to Janakpur in the wake of protest by the UCPN-Maoist and Madhesi parties, Indian envoy Ranjit Rae has said he was unaware if the tour was cancelled. Modi was to visit Janakpur, Sita's birthplace, Lumbini, Buddha's birthplace, and Muktinath, during his trip to the Himalayan kingdom between November 25-27 to attend the Saarc summit.

Ambassador Rae said that the Indian Embassy had not received official information from the Indian government yet. Modi's schedule would be made public after consulting the Ministry of External Affairs, Rae told reporters in Kathmandu. MEA officials added in New Delhi that Modi has a window from the evening of November 25 to the evening of November 27 to visit all these areas besides devoting time for the Saarc summit at Kathmandu and bilateral meeting with regional leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Nepal home secretary claimed the visit to Janakpur had not been cancelled and that he had visited the area on Friday to prepare for Modi's trip. Local political groups staged rallies and counter-rallies in Janakpur in connection with Modi's visit. Modi is supposed to directly arrive in Janakpur by land, where he would perform puja and address public rally, before flying to Kathmandu to attend the Saarc summit.

It was on Thursday evening that Bimalendra Nidhi, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and also chief of the preparation committee in Janakpur had said, "I was informed by the Foreign Ministry about the cancellation of Modi's visit to the religious site," Nidhi said. The controversy began after Nepal's deputy prime minister Bam Dev Gautam told Parliament that Modi was not scheduled to address the people of Janakpur.