Koirala said that they are going to hold discussions with their Indian counterparts on finding ways to take the peace process to a logical end and on establishing peace and stability in the country. But Prime Minister Nepal said they are not going to hold any such discussions. They were briefing the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Human Rights about their forthcoming India visit. The prime minister is scheduled to visit India on August 18.
"We will discuss several issues ranging from political, economic and trade to hydropower. But, mainly we will discuss how to take the peace process to a logical end and the issues of establishing peace and improving the security situation in the country," she said.
Deputy Parliamentary Party leader of the Unified CPN (Maoist) Narayan Kaji Shrestha expressed serious objection to Koirala´s statement. He said it is meaningless to hold discussions in detail with the Indian government about the peace process in Nepal. "It is the Nepali people´s responsibility to take the peace process to a logical conclusion. It is meaningless to hold discussions over the matter with Indians," he said. "We can only seek goodwill from the Indian government. If there is anything beyond that it will be a matter of serious objection."
Koirala, who was flanked by Shrestha, then interrupted him and further clarified her statement. "Obviously we have to talk to India because everyone knows about the security situation in the Tarai districts and at the same time we have to take the peace process to a logical end. Talking to the Indian government is a must and it is meaningless to keep it secret," she maintained.
Then the prime minister said they are not going to hold discussions over the ongoing peace process in Nepal. "We are not going there to discuss the peace process. We can only seek their goodwill over the issue but nothing beyond that. It is mainly a goodwill visit," Nepal clarified.
He said no agreement will be inked with the Indian government on any issue of long-term significance during the visit without first reaching a consensus among the major political parties.
The prime minister said that they will discuss Nepal-India border issues, matters related to water resources, hydropower projects, dams constructed by India along the border, the Bhutanese refugee issue and trade, among other matters.
"But our focus will be to bring past agreements into implementation and to give momentum to already-agreed projects instead of just signing one more agreement," he said.
He said that during the visit he will explore the possibility of giving momentum to the 6000-MW Pancheshwar hydropower project.
He also informed that officials are working on drafts of the agreements to be reached with India to lower the trade deficit with India and to attract more investment from the southern neighbor.
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