‘India should consider extending financial support to Nepal,’ says Brahma Chellaney

India should assist Nepal in rebuilding its damaged institutions as well as extend financial support to Nepal’s reconstruction, said geostrategist Brahma Chellaney. The neighbouring country’s parliament building was set on fire by protesters who were demonstrating against rampant corruption.

Chellaney said, “India should consider extending substantial financial support to Nepal’s reconstruction, including assistance for rebuilding the Parliament and other state institutions burned by rioters. Such assistance would build on India’s tradition of standing with Nepal in times of need — from Operation Maitri after the 2015 earthquake to other natural disasters — and also reflect the spirit of India’s "Neighborhood First" policy.” Operation Maitri was India’s rescue and relief operation in Nepal after the earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people.

He had earlier lauded India's measured response, "guided by a strategy of pragmatic assistance and non-interference in Nepalese politics". 

Similar sentiments were expressed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a column for NDTV on Monday. He suggested that India should refrain from interfering in Nepal’s internal matters but also should offer assistance in terms of infrastructure and culture. He said India must focus on completing existing projects on time, investing in new ones, promoting educational as well as cultural exchanges, and opening new channels of communication.

Tharoor said India should focus on the development of Nepal, and that New Delhi should be wary of Beijing's growing influence in the country.

Meanwhile, Nepal is gradually returning to normal as the Sushila Karki-led interim government took shape. Three newly-appointed ministers including former electricity board CEO Kulman Ghising, prominent lawyer Om Prakash Aryal, and former finance secretary Rameshwor Khanal took oath on Monday.

Ghising took charge of three portfolios: energy, water resources and irrigation; physical infrastructure and transport; and urban development, while Khanal was appointed as finance minister, and Aryal was sworn in as Minister for Home Affairs and for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who will oversee the remaining ministerial portfolios, became Nepal's first woman prime minister after the ouster of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli following the youth-led 'Gen Z' protests against his government over corruption and a government ban on social media.