Kathmandu, Sep 15 (Inditop.com) Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, whose two-day visit to Nepal witnessed two attempts by unidentified people to bomb the residence of Hindi-speaking Vice-President Paramananda Jha, Tuesday adroitly avoided fanning the controversy, choosing to answer all questions asked by journalists in English.
During her brief press conference before she departed for New Delhi, Rao was asked by a resident of Bihar whether she was struck by the changes in Nepal, a country she has been visiting since 1980 when she was a junior diplomat.
Though the question was asked in Hindi, Rao said she would answer in English so that her answer would be understood by everyone present.
In the past, her predecessor Shiv Shankar Menon had fielded questions asked to him in Hindi in the same language.
Rao’s sidestepping comes as Nepal’s first Vice President remains embroiled in a legal battle.
Jha’s status remains uncertain after the Supreme Court said the oath of office and secrecy he had taken in Hindi last year was unconstitutional and ordered him to be sworn in again in Nepali or face being removed from his post.
Jha, a former Supreme Court judge who comes from Nepal’s Hindi-speaking Terai belt, however refused and appealed against the verdict.
While the hearing is on, the government however has withdrawn his security cover and the national flag from his residence, signifying that he is no longer regarded as vice president.
On Monday, when Rao arrived in Kathmandu, a bomb was found near Jha’s residence, making it the third attempt to bomb his residence since the dispute started.
On Tuesday too, a bomb was found in the same area and defused by the bomb disposal squad.
Answering the Hindi question in English, Rao said that during all her visits, she is struck by a “sense of closeness to the people and the environs”.
