Yechury leaves for Kathmandu tomorrow

New Delhi, Apr 27 (UNI) India's Nepal interlocuter Sitaram Yechury will leave for Kathmandu tomorrow for a two-day visit aimed at taking forward the roadmap for restoration of democracy in the troubled Himalayan kingdom.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member, who is visiting the Nepalese capital on the invitation of the seven-party alliance (SPA), told reporters today that the G P Koirala-led interim government has the immediate task of setting up a Constituent Assembly and calling the Maoists for talks.

Mr Yechury, who won the praise of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his effective role in defusing the crisis in the neighbouring country, said the Maoists joining the mainstream in Nepal will have a salutary effect in the naxal movement in India.

The CPI (M) Rajya Sabha member, who has held extensive discussions on the situation in Nepal with Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and a Group of Ministers of the government, said the new Nepalese government has a four-point agenda on its hands.

Firstly, the Nepalese Parliament, which is being reconvened tomorrow, has to decide to set-up a Constituent Assembly, that could decide the future of the political set-up in the country controlled by the monarch.

Secondly, Mr Koirala has to implement the 12-point charter agreed between the SPA and the Maoists before the movement for restoration of democracy began. Thirdly, the new government will have to call the Maoists for talks and lastly all the laws enacted by King Gyanendra in the past one year will have to be repealed.

MORE UNI FZ KD KP1213