India be wary of US games in Nepal: Mukherjee

by GOPAL KHANAL
NEW DELHI, May 16 - Former Indian ambassador to Nepal Dev Mukherjee on Friday cautioned the Indian government against the games being played by the United States in Nepal as these may provoke strong Chinese reactions.
Speaking here at a seminar on "Emerging situation in Nepal : Policy options for India" organized by Observer Research Foundation, a foreign policy thinktank, he urged Indian authorities to stay out of US games in Nepal.
''If Americans are playing a certain kind of game to deny the Maoists legitimate governance and India is backing them, this could lead to instability due to possible reactions by China, given the conditions in Tibet,'' he said.
"Then all bets would be off. I am worried. India should be aware of all possibilities," Mukharjee warned.
He was referring to reports suggesting that US officials in Kathmandu are counseling Prime Minister Girija Koirala to lead the next government, bypassing the Maoists.
He also said he did not think China would play a too proactive a role in Nepal other than being a neighbor and a big country.
''But, given the increasing US involvement with the Nepalese army, and the games being played by the US, which the Chinese may suspect would affect the conditions in Tibet, then it would lead to Chinese reactions,'' he opined.
He said he sensed that some elements within the Nepali Congress are exerting pressure on Prime Minister Koirala not to hand over power to the Maoists
"Who is instigating them?" Mukharjee asked.
He said Koirala's refusal to budge from the prime minister's office could lead to a constitutional crisis. ''It would be against people's mandate," he said.
However, he hoped that Koirala's stance is only part of a bargaining strategy, considering that only two out of 20 Koirala candidates in the elections won.
He and other speakers hoped the king would have the wisdom to leave the palace before 28th May, when the Constituent Assembly is scheduled to meet.
Experts at the seminar were unanimous that India should be ready for a review of the Indo-Nepal Treaty, as demanded by Maoists, who have emerged as the single largest party in the just concluded Constituent Assembly elections.
Mukherjee said the 1950 treaty has only limited impact, with many clauses dead and ineffective.
He said India and Nepal should go for a comprehensive treaty on equal terms which should be transparent. "It would end decades of India bashing by Nepali politicians who equate nationalism with India bashing," Mukherjee remarked.
CPI leader D. Raja said India should take into account the new situation of a democratically elected government in Nepal. "India has reviewed its treaty with Bhutan. India has also said it is ready to review the treaty with Nepal. I don't think the Indian government will have any objections," he said.
He said the option for India in the emerging situation was to have "better, cordial, friendly relations" with Nepal like with other countries.
Nepal was going through a critical period, he said and hoped that the people and their leaders would have the "sagacity and maturity" to come
out victorious as they
did in their struggle against the monarchy, he said.
"I don't think there would be any worsening of the situation. Earlier, Nepalese political class played manipulative games with the king. State-to-state, transparent relations can improve the relations much better'' Raja said (Kantipuronline)