Businessman Prachanda shuns tradition, talks FDI

The Nepalese prime minister is on a 4-day visit to India

NEW DELHI; The only thing red about visiting Nepalese prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, was his silk tie.

The Maoist boss, who led a violent revolution in Nepal to throw out the nation’s 250-year-old monarchy, looked far from a fierce underground guerrilla fighter and more like a sedate middle-aged businessman.

His Rado watch and dark business suit set him apart from a majority of Nepalese politicians who visited India before him in the national dress.

Perhaps because King Gyanendra and the royal family preferred the national dress in public, Prachanda decided to discard it.

On his first visit to India as prime minister, Prachanda was speaking at a Ficci-, Assocham- and CII-organised function at Hotel Taj Mansingh on Monday.

The small hall was teeming with business leaders and journalists, all come to hear what Prachanda had to say. Would he hit out at capitalism, give a fiery speech on trade union rights and the need to nationalise private industry?

Far from it, Prachanda spoke like any post-liberalisation leader, emphasising on private-public partnership, talking of a global village and inviting foreign direct investment (FDI) to the Himalayan kingdom. “The government in Nepal will play the role of a facilitator by creating a favourable environment to unleash the creativity and entrepreneurship of the people. The government remains committed toadopting every possible measure to provide investors the necessary securities, including repatriation of capital and profit earned in the country,” he said.

“We will do all we can to ensure industrial security in Nepal and also a fair, collaborative relationship between labour and industry.”

Prachanda spoke of opportunities in the power sector for Indian companies in infrastructure and hydel power projects in Nepal. He wants to harness 10,000 megawatts of power in the next 10 years.

Realising India’s anxiety about the growing relations between Nepal and China, the prime minister said, “India and Nepal have traditional economic interdependence and relations with India are crucial and vital, though we also want to develop our ties with China.”

He stressed that “there is no question of comparison between Nepal’s ties with India and its ties with China”.

Prachanda praised India’s economic development saying, “We believe prosperity in the neighbourhood will have positive spillover effects for countries such as Nepal.”
g_seema@dnaindia.net