With declaration of Nepal as a republic and abolishing the monarchy by the first meeting of Constituent Assembly on Wednesday, a new dawn has begun for the country to be led by the 53-year-old former rebel, who is now in his strongest position to rebuild the impoverished Himalayan country.
Nepal witnessed political turbulence in 2022 that dramatically turned rivals into allies and throned former guerrilla leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the prime minister for a third time, as Kathmandu made efforts to balance ties with immediate neighbours India and China with high-profile talks and visits.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, US President Donald Trump, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were among scores of world leaders who offered condolences to the people of India in wake of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
As Nepal undergoes a political transition, India on Friday pitched for implementing the country's Constitution by accommodating aspirations of all sections and assured it of all possible support amid China's efforts to gain ground in the Himalayan nation.
According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, the earthquake with an epicentre in Jajarkot district was recorded at 11.47 pm.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth are set to be invited to Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
With the support from eight political parties, 78-year-old Poudel's victory was certain. His rival Subas Chandra Nebmang had support of former prime minister KP Sharma-led CPN-UML.
The decision to remove Oli from the party's general membership was taken at the Standing Committee meeting of the faction led by former prime ministers Prachanda and Madhav Kumar Nepal after Oli failed to produce explanation to his recent moves as sought by party leadership, sources said.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Saturday conveyed India's 'deep disappointment' to Maoist leader Prachanda over his verbal attacks on the country, terming them 'baseless propaganda'. During a meeting with Prachanda in Kathmandu, Krishna asked the Maoists to fulfill their peace process commitments and join the consensus on concluding the peace process and drafting the new constitution by the targeted date of May 28. Krishna "conveyed deep disappointment".
Slamming Maoist leader Prachanda for alleging Indian interference in Nepal's affairs, premier Madhav Kumar Nepal has said his charges expose the "bias" of an "unpredictable" person against the neighbouring country.
The announcement came as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' called an emergency meeting of the council of ministers following the crash.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis last Sunday after Oli, known for his pro-Beijing leanings, in a surprise move, recommended dissolving the 275-member House, amidst a tussle for power with former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.
The move comes as the intra-party feud reached climax in the ruling NCP which has been witnessing months long tussle between two factions, one led by 68-year-old Oli and Party's chairman and another led by 66-year-old 'Prachanda', also the executive chair of the party and former premier.
Prachanda also insisted that elections to the Constituent Assembly in Nepal be held in November or December, failing which his party would walk out of the government and launch a peaceful agitation.
"I am glad." That is how former external affairs Yashwant Sinha reacted to Prachanda's resignation as Nepal Prime Minister. Sinha was addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.
Nepal Maoist chief Prachanda sought to allay India's concerns that his party was strongly anti-Indian, but underlined that the two countries need to redefine the 'unequal' accords of the past given the dramatic changes of the past few years. On the second say of her three-day visit, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met the Maoist chairman who also told her that his party was committed to honour the agreements signed in line with the peace process in Nepal.
Nursing "serious suspicions" on India's role in Nepal's political process, Maoist leader Prachanda has said the Indian establishment had failed to "grasp the verdict" of the historic 2008 election and he is keen to discuss his concerns with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
'This allows opportunities for (Chinese) entry into the domestic politics of Nepal, something that is also encouraged by Nepali politicians's willingness to play the China card (vis-a-vis India).'
Did Oli turn to India when he realised that China was backing unity of the Nepal Communist Party rather than the government led by his faction?
On his first official visit to India, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday met leaders across the political spectrum and discussed issues of bilateral interest. Prachanda called on President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari.
'The Prime Minister's remarks that India was conspiring to remove him was neither politically correct, nor diplomatically appropriate,'
'Keeping its financial interests in mind, China wants no enmity with the Nepalese government.'
If Prachanda is prudent and mature, he won't let relations with India be marred by anti-India posturing. Will he be able to do that? India's long border with Nepal has seen an unusual growth in madarssas and jihadi activities. Will Prachanda's Nepal help handle that?
Modi is likely to hold separate bilateral meetings with the foreign leaders.
Minutes after landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Prachanda was held up at the immigration counter for a few explanations. It took him half an hour before being allowed to proceed.
Condolences have poured in from across the globe, including from the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
There are two possible scenarios -- these fears turn out to be baseless and Prachanda turns out to be a genuine democrat and a genuine friend of India or Prachanda after the elections turns out to be different from Prachanda before the elections and takes Nepal on a road, which would be detrimental to our national interests. While hoping for the first scenario, we must be prepared for the second.
Sharif was the only prime minister from India's neighbourhood who wasn't invited to the swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi.
'Although the real Ayodhya lies at Thori in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed the Indian site as the birthplace of Lord Ram'
Nepal's ruling UCPN-Maoist has suspended its supremo Prachanda's son Prakash Dahal from the party and from a powerful state affairs committee over his alleged extramarital affair with a student leader.
An image of Maoist leader Prachanda speaking at a public function.
Maoist supremo Prachanda on Wednesday said that his party will not tolerate 'any kind of interference' in the internal affairs of Nepal from 'any part of the world'. He also accused India of 'breaking the politics of consensus' in the country. Addressing his first press conference after resigning as premier, he also dubbed a videotape, purportedly showing him boasting about making a false claim about the strength of Maoist combatants, as a 'conspiracy' against peace process.
Here are the highlights of Modi's second day in Nepal.
Prime Minister Oli secured 93 votes in the lower house of parliament during a special session convened on the directives of President Bidya Devi Bhandari.
Favouring a "revolutionary change" in relations with India, Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda on Tuesday said a "new era has dawned" that should help further strengthen the bilateral ties. He suggested that New Delhi should help in the development of Nepal, which is placed in between two rising economies -- India and China.
Expressing concern over the recent Maoist activities, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a recent meeting with a UML team in Delhi had said that the unity between the Nepali Congress and UML be strengthened.
The leader who three years ago was an ultra-Left wing underground leader was today talking with pragmatism and wisdom about dreams and peace. Karl Marx's foot soldier is now talking like a student of Dr Manmohan Singh's class on market economy
The rebel chief, whose real name of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, claimed that the visit succeeded in overcoming the confusion about the Maoists and the motive of the insurgency, the party waged in 1996.
A day after premier K P Oli resigned, Nepal President called on all the political parties to elect a new prime minister within a week
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