Pokhara, March 10

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Chitra Bahadur KC stressed the need to cultivate better relations with China to offset the blockade or the likes in future.

Addressing the 24th district council of Kaski District Development Committee here today, the minister hoped that the visit to China by Prime Minister KP Oli will be fruitful in inking major deals and agreements for the benefit of the country and the people.

“Being in a strategic location between the relatively richer and more prosperous countries, Nepal should learn to reap benefits from it. As of now we’re hopeful that a deal on transit facility will be clinched with China during the PM’s visit,” said KC.

“As India is now apprehensive that Nepal will ink major deals with China this time around, it has given us assurances that it will operate railway to Nepal directly from Benaras, which is good news for us, anyway,” he remarked, criticising India for imposing a blockade on its neighbour and hailing the people for toughing it out with great courage.

Reiterating the need for Nepal to explore ways to be self-dependent in the long run, KC also took political leaders to task for seeking grace from India to stick to power. “As a political leader myself, I feel ashamed of the tendency among political leaders here to unnecessary ingratiate themselves,” he said.

On federalism, he alleged that federalism was introduced at the behest of a foreign power. “In fact, this ‘ism’ is a recipe to disintegrate the country. So far, eight districts of the Tarai have been separated in the name of federalism, but Madhesi leaders are bent on severing the entire Tarai,” he said.

KC also held foreign powers responsible for hiccups in the construction of the ambitious regional international airport in Pokhara. He suggested that the Nepali Congress join the government for successful statute implementation.