 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal during a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi")
Several Left parties in Nepal on Monday announced to jointly launch a protest later this month against a 25-point agreement reached with India during Prime Minister Prachanda's visit to New Delhi, saying parts of the pact "undermined" the sovereignty of the landlocked country.
The Left parties - CPN-ML, CPN-Revolutionary Maoist, CPN-Masal, CPN-Marxist, People's Front Nepal, National People's Front - announced their protest in a statement here.
CPN-Masal General-Secretary Mohan Bikram Singh said the Indo-Nepal joint press communique issued on September 16 included matters that "undermined the national sovereignty" of Nepal.
Certain clauses were against the national interests and they were signed at a time when the need for establishing Nepal as an independent nation by scrapping the "unequal and anti-national" treaties signed in the past between India and Nepal had been felt, the parties said in the statement.
As part of their protest programme, the parties have decided to jointly issue a leaflet highlighting the need to launch a struggle against "the act of betrayal" to the nation by Prachanda-led coalition government.
A grand rally will be organised in Kathmandu on October 25 against the agreement, they said.
India and Nepal in a joint statement last month had announced measures to strengthen ties, including a commitment to "not allow" their territory to be used against each other and agreed to set up an oversight mechanism to regularly review the progress of economic and development projects.
The joint statement had said the two countries will work to ensure the open border was "not allowed to be misused by unscrupulous elements posing security threats to either side."
Nepal, a landlocked country, is heavily dependent on India for fuel and essential supplies. A prolonged protest by Madhesi people of the plains early this year had led to a massive shortage of essential commodities and fuel in Nepal.
The Madhesis, who share strong cultural and family ties with Indians, had accused the previous government of KP Sharma Oli of neglecting their interests in drafting of Nepal's new Constitution.
India had conveyed to Prachanda, Oli's successor, during his visit to New Delhi that the new Constitution should "accommodate" aspirations of all sections of the Nepalese society.
