Delhi may extend Prasad’s term if CA vote okayed for Nov
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India is considering extending the tenure of its ambassador to Nepal Jayanta Prasad by three months, if Nepal goes to the Constituent Assembly elections by mid-November.
The two-year term of Prasad expires in August end, prior to his retirement from the Indian Foreign Service. The Indian government has already proposed Ranjit Rae, the incumbent Indian ambassador to Vietnam, as his successor and the Nepal government has approved his agreemo.
“If the elections take place on November 14 as proposed by the Election Commission, the proposed ambassador will, most possibly, not take up his assignment immediately after Prasad leaves. In such a case, Rae’s deputation to Kathmandu will be deferred by three months,” said an External Affairs Ministry official.
In 2008, then Indian Ambassador to Kathmandu Shiv Shanker Mukherjee got an additional stay of six months due to the deferral of the first Constituent Assembly polls.
“If the parties in Nepal agree within a week to a mid-November date for the elections, Prasad’s term extension is possible,” said the ministry source.
Even if the Nepali side has agreed to Rae’s proposal, the Indian government has not announced his appointment due to the political uncertainty and transition going on in Nepal. An old Nepal hand in New Delhi, Rae, 56, is one the architects of the 12-point agreement signed in 2005 in New Delhi between the then Seven-party Alliance and the CPN (Maoist).
Rae was the joint-secretary at the MEA who looked after the (Nepal/Bhutan) North Desk.
“Discussion is under way at the top level of the government whether to accord a special provision for Prasad by giving another three months,” said the source. “The decision will be out within next week.”
Not only at the bureaucratic level, Nepal watchers in Delhi are following the developments in Nepal closely. “For the stability of democracy and peace, elections are a must for Nepal,” said former Ambassador to Nepal Mukherjee.
Meanwhile, to understand the situation in Nepal better, the South Block is busy inviting Nepali leaders to New Delhi for consultation and dialogue with “as much political leaders as possible”. On Sunday, former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is arriving in Delhi. Also coming are his spouse Arzoo Deuba and party leader Bimalendra Nidhi. A South Block official said the visits are aimed at garnering all attention to election and imparting the message that all the parties in Nepal are equal in the eyes of India.
The two-year term of Prasad expires in August end, prior to his retirement from the Indian Foreign Service. The Indian government has already proposed Ranjit Rae, the incumbent Indian ambassador to Vietnam, as his successor and the Nepal government has approved his agreemo.
“If the elections take place on November 14 as proposed by the Election Commission, the proposed ambassador will, most possibly, not take up his assignment immediately after Prasad leaves. In such a case, Rae’s deputation to Kathmandu will be deferred by three months,” said an External Affairs Ministry official.
In 2008, then Indian Ambassador to Kathmandu Shiv Shanker Mukherjee got an additional stay of six months due to the deferral of the first Constituent Assembly polls.
“If the parties in Nepal agree within a week to a mid-November date for the elections, Prasad’s term extension is possible,” said the ministry source.
Even if the Nepali side has agreed to Rae’s proposal, the Indian government has not announced his appointment due to the political uncertainty and transition going on in Nepal. An old Nepal hand in New Delhi, Rae, 56, is one the architects of the 12-point agreement signed in 2005 in New Delhi between the then Seven-party Alliance and the CPN (Maoist).
Rae was the joint-secretary at the MEA who looked after the (Nepal/Bhutan) North Desk.
“Discussion is under way at the top level of the government whether to accord a special provision for Prasad by giving another three months,” said the source. “The decision will be out within next week.”
Not only at the bureaucratic level, Nepal watchers in Delhi are following the developments in Nepal closely. “For the stability of democracy and peace, elections are a must for Nepal,” said former Ambassador to Nepal Mukherjee.
Meanwhile, to understand the situation in Nepal better, the South Block is busy inviting Nepali leaders to New Delhi for consultation and dialogue with “as much political leaders as possible”. On Sunday, former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba is arriving in Delhi. Also coming are his spouse Arzoo Deuba and party leader Bimalendra Nidhi. A South Block official said the visits are aimed at garnering all attention to election and imparting the message that all the parties in Nepal are equal in the eyes of India.
0 comments
Write Down Your Responses