At a time when the Constituent Assembly members are being criticised for lack of progress in constitution-drafting, 14  ‘young’ CA members from different parties are embarking on an eight-day visit to India from Saturday at the invitation of the Indian government.

CA members from UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, MJF-Loktantrik, MJF-Nepal, Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) and and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) are visiting India as part of the Young Parliamentarian’s Exchange Programme initiated by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

“The visit is in keeping with the tradition of the long and deep association and friendship between Parliamentarians of India and Nepal and will help continue that tradition with the newer generation of Parliamentarians,” the Indian embassy said in a press statement.

This is the second visit of a delegation of “young parliamentarians” from Nepal to India.  “The exchange programme is a result of the decision reached at the highest level by India-Nepal that there should be regular exchange of parliamentary delegations between India and Nepal as parliamentarians of both sides can make valuable contribution in sharing experiences, exchanging views on strengthening democratic norms and for generating fresh ideas to deepen bilateral relations and mutual understanding,” the embassy said.

During the visit, the CA members will meet the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, leaders of opposition and will also meet senior officials in the Ministry of External Affairs.  They will interact with their Indian counterparts and meet members of the India-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group.

The delegation will also scheduled to visit Agra “to observe initiatives related to tourism development” as well as Bangalore where they would be briefed on the functioning of federal legislature. They will also visit centres of excellence including the Indian Institute of Management, the Wipro campus and BIOCON facilities.

The CA members visiting India are Sarat Singh Bhandari of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Loktantrik), Devi Khadka, Khimlal Devkota, Binod Pahari and Bharat Prasad Sah of UCPN(Maoist), Ram Krishna Chitrakar and Usha Gurung of Nepali Congress, Bibha Kumari Karki, Tashi Shangmo Gurungseni and Sher Bahadur Kunwar of CPN-UML, Asha Kumari Sardar of MJF(L), Md. Ishtiaq Rai of MJF(Nepal), Jitendra Sonal of TMLP and Nivedita Chaudhary of RPP. nepalnews.com