Nepal PM arrives in MP for 2-day state visit; heads to Mahakaleshwar temple

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal "Prachanda" arrived in Madhya Pradesh on Friday as part of his two-day visit to the state.

Prachanda and his delegation arrived at the Indore airport around 11 am, where they were given a warm welcome by state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, his cabinet colleagues Tulsiram Silawat, Usha Thakur and Indore BJP MP Shankar Lalwani.

Traditional dance was performed at the airport by a group of artistes in honour of the guests from Nepal. Members of the local Nepalese community raised the slogans of "Jai Mahakali" by holding the flags of India and Nepal to welcome them.

The Nepal PM and CM Chouhan held a brief interaction at the airport. Chouhan was seen sporting a traditional Nepali cap during his interaction with Prachanda.

Official sources said Prachanda was overwhelmed by the warm welcome and told CM Chouhan that it didn't seem that they were meeting for the first time.

During the meeting, Chouhan told him that India and Nepal were ancient civilisations and they were culturally one.

After their interaction, Prachanda left by road for the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, one of the 12 'jyotirlingas' in the country, located around 55 km away from Indore.

Following his temple visit, the Nepal PM will return to Indore, where he will hold a meeting with Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel, officials have said.

After the meeting, he will visit a solid waste management plant run by the Indore Municipal Corporation, the officials said.

CM Chouhan will host a dinner in honour of Prachanda in Indore, they added.

On Saturday, the Nepalese PM will visit the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys campuses in an IT Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Indore, and leave for New Delhi later in the day, according to them.

Prachanda and his high-level delegation arrived in India on Wednesday afternoon on a four-day official visit.

It is the first bilateral trip abroad by the 68-year-old Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) leader after he assumed the top office in December 2022.

On Thursday, the Nepal PM met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Both the leaders vowed to resolve the vexed boundary dispute under the spirit of friendship even as the two sides signed several major pacts including one on increasing New Delhi's import of power from the neighbouring country to 10,000 megawatt in the next 10 years.

After the meeting, PM Modi said India will continue to strive to take the relationship with Nepal to Himalayan heights.