NEW DELHI, April 27 - At a time when Maoist Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda has been advocating a review of the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty to tackle existing differences and weaknesses, some political pundits and leaders in India have seconded Prachanda's assertion.
Speaking at a talk program on 'Effect of Constituent Assembly election results in Nepal' organized by the India-Nepal Jana Ekta Manch on Friday, leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist and Leninist) and the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) requested everyone not to consider Nepal's Maoists as anti-Indian elements.
Underlying the need to review the treaty in the new political context, special correspondent and analyst of the Economic and Political Weekly, Gautam Naulakha, said, "As there are several discrepancies in the existing treaty, it must be reviewed."
Talking about the Indian government's stance that it intends to review rather than scrap the treaty, Naulakha said, "But we will exert pressure on the Indian government and compel it to nullify the old treaty."
Regarding issues of Nepal's security, its natural resources and the utilization thereof, Clauses 3 and 4 of the treaty contain provisions giving special priority to India.
Freelance journalist and leftist analyst Anand Sworoop Varma said the treaty should be updated in accordance with the political changes. "The treaty that was signed by the Rana rulers when there was no democracy in Nepal should be replaced with a new treaty."
He also said that the treaty should not be reviewed just to update bilateral relations; rather, all kinds of discrepancies in the treaty between the two countries should be reviewed.
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