PHOTOJOURNALISTS PROTEST: Nepalese photojournalists put down their accreditation as they stage a symbolic protest in Kathmandu yesterday. They staged a protest against the government decision to bar photojournalists from private media houses and wire agencies at the venue of a regional summit. The 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit is scheduled from November 22 to 27 in
Kathmandu. Heads of state from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Maldives will attend the main summit.

 

IANS/Kathmandu

A shutdown affected normal life in Janakpur in Nepal yesterday after 22 political parties announced a strike protesting against the cancellation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the town.

Life was thrown out of gear due to the strike called by the parties demanding that Modi visit Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, as well as Janakpur as he had announced in August.

On Thursday, the Nepal government announced the cancellation of Modi’s visit to Lumbini, Janakpur and Muktinath, saying he would only attend the November 26-27 Saarc Summit in Kathmandu.

The protesters said they also wanted Modi to attend a civic reception at Barha Bigha and address a mass gathering as originally scheduled
for November 25.

According to information reaching in Kathmandu, the protesters burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Home Minister Bamdve Gautam, holding them responsible for the axing of
the visit.

Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey told the media that India had conveyed that Modi would show up only at the Saarc Summit due to his involvement in various political meetings.

India’s ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae, however, said yesterday that “no official communication has been made regarding the cancellation of the visit” to the three places.

On Thursday, cabinet minister Bimalendra Nidhi, who was to have received Modi at Janakpur, announced the cancellation after being told to do so by the Nepal government.

Amid the ambiguity, preparations continued yesterday at Janakpur to host the Indian
leader.

Home secretary Surya Prasad Silwal, who is in Janakpur to oversee security and other logistic factors, told the local media that he had not got any official communication from Kathmandu cancelling Modi’s trip.

He claimed that Modi’s civic reception, welcome programme and public address would take place as scheduled at Janakpur.

“Since Thursday we have working on a war footing,” Silwal said. “I am here with the chiefs of security agencies to prepare for the Modi visit.”

However, the Nepal foreign ministry yesterday said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to religious sites in Nepal were still in place, a day after they were announced cancelled for security reasons.

Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey retracted the earlier cancellation announcement during a press conference in Kathmandu, and said that Modi’s itinerary would proceed as scheduled.

Modi is scheduled to visit Janakpur district on November 25, on the sidelines of a meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc). He is also set to visit the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Lumbini and the Muktinath temple in Jomsom after the summit.