Nepal President cancels trip to India

The state visit of Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to India has been cancelled, Nepali official sources have confirmed to The Hindu.

President Bhandari was scheduled to land in Delhi on May 9 as the state guest and was scheduled to be a guest of President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Bhandari was scheduled to participate in a Shahi Snan in Ujjain’s Simhastha Kumbh on May 14.

Official sources are yet to comment on the real reasons behind the cancellation of the trip but The Hindu has reliably learnt that the visit was cancelled in view of the evolving political situation in Nepal following the threat of a split in the ruling CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist coalition government of Nepal.

Earlier this week, UCPN-Maoist led by Prachanda triggered political instability by declaring end of the coalition.

Though discussion has been on to save the eight-month old coalition, instability continues in Kathmandu.