As India tries to rework its relations with Nepal, the Nitish Kumar Government has indicated that it is favourably disposed towards releasing Nepali Maoists lodged in Bihar’s jails. The Chief Minister on Monday said that after Nepal Minister and Maoist leader Hisila Yami raised the issue with him, he sought details pertaining to Nepali Maoists in jails here. “She had raised the issue and so, I have asked her to provide me with all the details. It will be considered favourably,” said Nitish Kumar.A delegation from Nepal, led by Yami, was here to participate in a two-day (April 26-27) seminar organised by the External Affairs Ministry. The seminar was titled, “Emerging Trends in India-Nepal Relations”. Yami and another Maoist politburo member, C P Gajurel, had met the CM and appealed for the early release of Maoists serving jail terms in Bihar. It is estimated that over 100 Maoist leaders and cadres are lodged in various jails across the state. They were arrested at different points of time when they were engaged in an underground and armed struggle in Nepal and had crossed the borders to take shelter here. The Bihar police have time and again asserted that Maoists on both the sides of the border had jointly carried out some major Naxal operations in the state. However, Nepali and Indian Maoist leaders have denied this.Kumar, however, refrained from going into the details of this and said a fresh beginning has been made in Indo-Nepal relations at the seminar. He said people’s mandate in Nepal should be respected and added that Nepali Maoists leaders had welcomed his idea pertaining to the construction of high dams on rivers that have their sources in Nepal. This would tackle the problem of floods that Bihar faces every year and lead to prosperity on the other side through generation of hydropower.
