It’s official: Modi not to visit Janakpur

KATHMANDU, NOV 23 -

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not visit Janakpur or any other places outside the Capital during the Saarc Summit, Spokesperson of Indian Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin has confirmed.

Akbaruddin confirmed that Modi will visit ‘only to Kathmandu ’ due to domestic commitments in India. “During visit to Nepal to attend the SAARC Summit, PM Narendra Modi to travel only to Kathmandu due to domestic commitments in India,” Akbaruddin tweeted this morning.

He also tweeted that Modi deeply values the relationship between India and Nepal and looks forward to early opportunity to visit other places in Nepal. “PM Narendra Modi deeply values special relationship between India and Nepal; looks forward to early opportunity to visit other places in Nepal,” another tweet read.

Modi’s Janakpur visit was surrounded by confusion when Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey quashed Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management Bimalendra Nidhi’s remarks that the visit had been called off. To add to the confusion, Indian envoy Ranjit Rae also said that there was no official confirmation about the cancellation of Indian PM’s proposed visits to Janakpur, Lumbini and Muktinath.

Nidhi had said that Modi’s planned sideline trip to Janakpur has been cancelled because of "bickering and unbecoming behaviour shown by some leaders of the UCPN (Maoist) and Madhes-based parties."

Source: The Kathmandu Post