Cross-party leaders including former prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal held separate meetings with Indian PM Narendra Modi before he wrapped up his two-day state visit to Nepal mostly focused on pilgrimage.

The political leaders discussed ways to better relations between the two countries. CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Dahal urged the visiting prime minister to take concrete steps for strengthening bilateral ties. Thanking India for the support to holding the three tiers of elections last year, Dahal sought New Delhi’s help in Nepal’s development endeavours.

According to a statement issued by Dahal’s secretariat, the Maoist leader drew the Indian PM’s attention to resolving border disputes involving several points that have remained unaddressed for years. He also pressed Modi for ending the perennial problem of inundation in Nepal’s Tarai caused by embankments India has built in a way to obstruct the natural flow of rivers. Dahal also asked Modi to remove the field office of India set up in Biratnagar in 2008, read the statement. The Indian side had established the office during the Koshi floods as a temporary measure. New Delhi has refused to close the office a decade after the incident despite frequent calls from Nepal to do so.

The secretariat stated that Dahal called the Indian PM’s attention to the remarks of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirti Azad, arguing that such condemnable acts only ruin the relationship between the two friendly nations. Azad took to social media on Friday to make a baseless claim that Janakpur belonged to India and that his party leader and PM Modi should raise the issue during his visit to Nepal.

A team of Nepali Congress leaders led by Deuba met Modi and talked about bilateral relationships. In the meeting, Modi lauded Deuba’s leadership in holding the three layers of elections that ended the long political transition in Nepal. “It was basically a courtesy meeting where we talked about bilateral relations,” NC General Secretary Purna Bahadur Khadka told the Post.Leaders from the Madhes-based parties including Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal Chairman Mahantha Thakur and Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum, Nepal chief Upendra Yadav also had separate meetings with Modi.