Red carpet for Nepal’s Rabi Lamichhane as New Delhi resets ties with Kathmandu

THe Bharatiya Janata company (BJP) and the outside affairs ministry on tues rolling come out the red carpet for the leader of Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rabi Lamichhane, the first senior political leader from the neighbouring country to visit after the change of government in Kathmandu.BJP president Nitin Nabin met a delegation led by Lamichhane, chairman of the RSP, at the party headquarters and discussed ways to strengthen relations between the people of the two countries and the need to engage youth constructively to bolster democracy, people aware of the talks said.Also Read: How can an aspirational Nepal and a rising India reconnect, writes Rabi LamichhaneLater in the day, Lamichhane visited the external affairs ministry and met external affairs minister S Jaishankar, who was accompanied by foreign secretary Vikram Misri. Jaishankar said on social media that he and Lamichhane discussed the bilateral development partnership and people-to-people ties. “These have a crucial role in promoting growth and prosperity,” he said.Lamichhane is visiting India at a time when the two sides are resetting their relationship following Nepal’s general election in March that was swept by the RSP and led to the emergence of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah as the PM. The visit also assumes significance as RSP leaders have said that Shah does not intend to travel abroad for at least a year.The RSP leaders are in New Delhi at Nabin’s invitation, and the meeting was part of the “Know BJP” initiative. The people cited above said the two sides discussed ways to enhance engagement between the two political parties through visits and discussions on issues of mutual interest.“Lamichhane was keen on understanding how the BJP functions, the strength of the cadre and how it works. He also said that unlike the BJP, the RSP first came to power and is now focusing on building up the party at the grassroots,” said a senior functionary privy to the details.Nabin and Lamichhane also spoke about the need to reach out to the youth or “Gen Z”, as they are colloquially known. “The leaders said there is a need to channelise their energy, which has huge potential if utilised constructively,” the person cited above said.Gen Z is credited with ushering in a political revolution in Nepal, paving the way for Shah’s election as the youngest PM.The functionary also said there was no discussion on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led satirical political movement being compared to Nepal’s Gen Z movement. The Indian government has maintained that the CJP cannot be seen as representative of Indian youth, even as it cracked down by imposing a ban on its social media platforms.The functionary said the CJP or other youth movements such as those in Bangladesh cannot be compared to Gen Z’s push for a change in Nepal as it culminated in the formation of a democratically elected government. “The transition in Nepal was different from other places such as Bangladesh. While there was initial violence and disturbance, eventually all political parties chose to participate in the election. In Bangladesh, the Awami League led by former PM Sheikh Hasina was banned from participating in polls,” the functionary said.Vijay Chauthaiwale, head of the BJP’s foreign affairs department, said Nabin highlighted the close and historic India-Nepal ties rooted in shared civilisational heritage, cultural bonds and strong people-to-people relations. “He said that such interactions help strengthen democratic dialogue and deepen party-to-party engagement between BJP and RSP,” Chauthaiwale said.The meeting was followed by a lunch interaction, which was joined by Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta.External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing that Lamichhane’s visit is part of contacts between political parties of the two countries. “These contacts are equally important because we have a multi-faceted partnership with Nepal. We have government-to-government [and] people-to-people relations…and we value these contacts in further strengthening our partnership with Nepal,” he said.Lamichhane’s visit also comes in the wake of the foreign secretary calling off a planned trip to Nepal last month after authorities in Kathmandu did not agree on a meeting between him and PM Shah, people familiar with the matter said.