By IANS,
New Delhi : Congratulating Nepal’s new prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, India Monday hoped that the peace process, including the framing of the constitution, would move “expeditiously” and offered the country any support it needed.
“We congratulate Madhav Nepal on his election as the Prime Minister of Nepal,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters after moving into his office in South Block.
“We hope that the peace process, including the important tasks of constitution drafting, will now move forward expeditiously.”
“We have a unique relationship with Nepal (the country). We stand ready to support Nepal in any manner it would want us to,” he said.
Krishna’s congratulatory message to Nepal, the leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist, came soon after the Communist leader was sworn in as the prime minister of Nepal, ending weeks of political crisis following the resignation of Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.
Nepal, 56, was elected unopposed as the prime minister on Saturday by the Constituent Assembly.
Nepal takes over as prime minister amid accusations by the Maoists about alleged interference of India in the internal affairs of the Himalayan state.
The Maoists have called the new prime minister a “puppet” propped up by India.
The Janadisha daily, the Maoist mouthpiece, Sunday contended the new government was “directed” by India.
India has denied any accusations of meddling in the affairs of its neighbour and has stressed that its only interest was in peace and reconstruction of Nepal.