KATHMANDU, July 31

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said promulgation of the new constitution in Nepal by resolving the disputed issues would help garner support from all sections of the society.

Receiving Nepal’s former prime minister and senior leader of Nepali Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba, at his 7 Race Course Road residence in New Delhi, Modi said a constitution that enjoys the broader support of the society helps build an inclusive, stable and prosperous Nepal.

Deuba said Nepali political parties were holding consultations to promulgate a new constitution with delineating borders of federal units.

According to sources in New Delhi, Deuba told Modi that political parties were working to sort out all remaining issues, including the delineation of borders of states before the issuance of new constitution by mid-August.

A 16-point deal that was sealed on June 8 among the four major parties represented in the CA had decided to settle the demarcation of borders through a separate commission within six months of the promulgation of the constitution. Madhesi parties have been adamant not to accept the constitution without demarcation of state boundaries. During their talks Modi told Deuba that India was fully committed to supporting Nepal in the reconstruction efforts, and commended the people of Nepal for their resilience in facing this grave tragedy, according to the statement.

Deuba also met senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, who suggested that Hindu-majority Nepal should either be declared a Hindu state or a country having religious freedom, sources in New Delhi told THT over phone.

Addressing an interaction organised by the Indian Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis organised in New Delhi on Friday, Deuba said Nepal’s political parties would bring the remaining Madhesi forces on board and their concerns would be addressed in the new constitution.

On a different note, Deuba said Nepal was safe for foreign investors and tourists even after the devastation caused by tremors in some parts of the country. He urged Indian entrepreneurs to invest money in Nepal’s competitive advantages sectors, such as agriculture, road construction and hydro-power generation.