Two days after the government revoked its decision to print the machine readable passports in India, the Indian embassy has issued an statement expressing regret over the politicisation of the issue. The statement reads:
India agreed to supply the machine readable passport booklets through its Government Undertaking, Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL), at a concessional price, as a gesture of goodwill and in keeping with the friendly relations between the two countries. In the spirit of mutual cooperation, the Government of India further agreed to provide, at its cost, technical assistance, which included supply of software and hardware equipment, installation of these equipments at the Central passport Office in Kathmandu and training of GON officials for personalization of Machine Readable Passports. Letters were exchanged by the Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Ambassador of India, Kathmandu on March 23, 2010.
It is a matter of regret that the issue has been politicized in Nepal and confidential communication from the Embassy has been publicized.
The confidential letter written by Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood to Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala defends India’s case for printing the machine readable passports in India. Nagarik published the letter on Monday. It says:
“India and Nepal share an open border regime under which Nepali citizens do not require a visa to travel to India and vice versa. In recent times, the open border has also been a source of certain security concerns which have been shared with the Nepali leaders at the highest level.”
The letter further said the proposal to print the passports in India would “address above mentioned security concerns, and also be financially advantageous to Nepal.”
The Foreign Ministry had sent the letter to the Public Accounts Committee, along with other documents regarding the printing contract.
“It’s against the diplomatic norms for an ambassador to write a letter asking the contract to be granted to India,” Public Accounts Committee Deepak Upadhyay told Nagarik.
“All documents regarding financial transactions are made public by the committee,” Upadhyay said.
Ambassador Sood met Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Tuesday morning. None of the sides has publicly revealed the agenda of the meeting. The Kathmandu Post writes:
Go back to previous pageThe one-on-one meeting, mostly defying the diplomatic protocol and without the customary presence of Foreign Ministry officials, was to express his displeasure, officials said.
Sood should at least receive great words of objection form the sovereign parliament. He has olympically violated the very basic norm of diplomacy. Sood go home !!
issuse wouldn’t have arised if we have printed the passport by ourself.. in Nepali Kagaz… and read it ourself…. why do we need machines to read it for us… focus on increasing the literacy rate..
This is the oppertunity for Nepalese Leaders to at least realizing that they have a back-bone.and stand up and not act servile infront of the indians.Sood is simply following the trend of Indian supremacy that has been there for decades in Nepelaese Beaurocracy. It is high time “Leaders” stand up ..Neplese people and NOT indian diplomats are your Boss.
This comment has been removed by the moderator.
Mr. Shood and the Indian Government should be ashamed in the petty politics they are doing with. Developing giant of South Asia, what they think of booming ecnomy should bang their head on th wall.
Just a mere issue of printing the third digree machine redable passport with just plastic lamination, that is what the Indians are supplying after? Oh, God, why the hell is the Indian Embassy and the Indian Government involved in this? Can there be a greater hidden agenda in this?
Now, the world can see, how cunning and dictating the Indian Government are towards Nepal, if they can cry foul in passport supplies, what the hell can they do in arms, and many other issuues like boarder and politics?
US, UK, CHINA AND MANY other friendly countries must note this, how the Indians can dictate Nepal in a small issues like making passports, forget about the Monarchy, Maoists’ and Democratic Multi Party systems, they can throw them in their whim, the way they have been dictating the parties and so called the politicians.
Shame on Foreign Minister Sujata, she should have immedately resigned in this scandle, what a person, and we Nepali are waiting for her to be Prime Minister???
Oh, Mr. Sood, be ashamed and pack up to Delhi, you do not seem to have any diplomatic values and norms.
I cannot understand why educated Nepalis have this complex against India. We are all brothers. Is this view shared by all Nepalis? I wonder. If Nepal wants to keep India aside fine, she has nothing to loose. What happens to Nepal if India keeps her away. Can you live for a week. India is not dictating any terms. India is assisting Nepal by printing these passports with hi technology that Nepal actually doesn’t possess that too at a low price.
Did you guyz understand the point. Because of porous borders India is having a security problem. That is why they wanted to help in printing the passports. Not to make any profit out it.
I know country pride does come first. I respect Nepal a lot as it is the only country that has Hindu values. Love and friendship should be between the people of both countries not hatred. Jai Nepal, Jai Hind.
Sood did not observe diplomatic protocol by directly meeting PM and Opposition Leader. However, this is his and India’s problem.
We in Nepal should book and hold liable PM Madhav Nepal and Opposition Leader Prachanda for violating diplomatic protocol by allowing Ambassador Sood to meet them directly. They, by doing so, have compromised on the norms and also belittled dignity of our country.
obviously mr. sandeep is not nepali. we are neighbours not brothers. and we dont want that you pretend to be our big brother. maybe you dont have a problem with abuse of power and corruption but i do. its quite clear that the bidding process was a fraud. what i cant understand is that an diplomat is pushing for a fradulent process go ahead?and on top of that putting pressure. see this really piss me off. and it has always been like that. always trying to bend the wills of nepalese to indias benefit. AND NO THE INDIAN BID WAS NOT THE CHEAPEST. and how the hell can a porous border issue be solved by MRP???? i really dont understand . i have crossed the india nepal border many times and never have i shown any identification of any kind. so citizens of india dont be ignorant dig deep, we nepalese also want to live in peace and harmony but not opressed and colonized.
lastly nepal is indias neighbours not brothers. pakistanis are your brothers,
can cut the hindu crap.
This whole affair started because of the incompetent government of nepal not doing anything about the passports in good time. They were told to get the Machine Readable Passports six years ago but they only went out shopping three months before the deadline!!! No other country can be blamed for this fiasco.
As for Sood flouting the diplomatic norms, I think we should look at why the Nepali PM & leader of opposition gave appointments to him without any officials from the foreigner ministry being present. They could have very well said no to meeting the ambassador alone but they didn’t. No whose fault is that?
Dunno where do I begin!! I, You and everyone else including the Politicians are idiots! Why are we fussing so much about this MRP? The game does not begin and end with MRP and the relationship with India will continue for eternity.
Politics and economic Development go hand in hand, and is one crazy game.
We have much more to lose than India losing the MRP Contract. Benefits and advantages in politics & development may be weighed not in one contract and an agreement but in 101 different ways.
Since we are the ‘Scum of the Earth’, everyone is only looking for an opportunity to bully us, be it US, UK,CHINA AND MANY other friendly countries.. (as someone noted earlier)
Good job Maoist …. you have the the Indians in delhi a lesson they deserve !
Sujata Koirala should be put in jail for treason…can any one do that..she is a dsigrace to Nepal and nepali people..so is Madhav Nepal…does any one have guts to kick his butt..literally…..he is a traitor….
Mr. Sood is not working as an ambassador he is working as a sales and marketing officer of indian import and export agency, Nepal has already finalized the four companies by the bidding process and the process was on its way, first came Mr. S.M ksirhana who doesn’t know anything about Nepal, he is not like Mr. Pranab Mukherjee the then foreign minister who has deep knowledge about Nepal and its politics, after S.M krishna’s pressure Nepal government cancelled the bidding process and directly granted permission to India security press, why so much of interest on printing nepalese passport ? why Mr. Sood don’t go to Bhutan and ask king wangchuk why Bhutan is printing its passports in Europe ? Ms. Sujata Koirala’s vested intrested (may be money matters) also played the vital role in this process, Nepal should give any country except India and China to print its passports. After the cancellation Mr sood even visiting the prime minister to express his disgust and anger, your excellency please do your job what are you assigned for, if you keep on like this you will be “unpopular” and people will make “fun” of you, learn from the then Indian ambassador Mr. K.V Rajan whose neutral behaviour and softness inspired all nepalese, i have never seen a piece of smile in your face, you always seemed worried, relax..!! dil chota mat karo..!!
The whole episode reflects the India’s big boss attitude and Sood being just a representative. India though proclaiming itself as the biggest democratic country never bother to respect nebouriong country’s sovereignty. In MRP is just one example.
On Sood’s letter to FM and /or direct talk to PM, it is clear he violated all the diplomatic protocol. However, I don’t blame to him only. The problem lies within ourselves. Why FM and PM, unfortunately the loosers with no moral and ethical ground to hold the office, allow Sood, who is just a joint secretary level in GOI? Don’t they know the protocal? or They don’t have the strength in their heart and bones to remind Sood about his position? If things goes like this I don’t surprise that the peon or chowkidar of the Indian embassy will also shout at PM and FM of Nepal and they will listen them obidiently. Dhikkar Makune! Manchhe sano bhaye anusar sochai ra kaam pani sanai.
Whats Sood, a mere diplomat, what about your politicians they dont think Nepal is what today is because of Prithvi Naryan Shah, before that there was no Nepal, and before there was India and today also there is India. So boys please live in the present, its time to collaborate and not confront and SIZE DOES MATTER.
SIZE DOES MATTER.
afghanistan is relativly small and USSR was quite BIG. and if prithvi narayan is responsible for the creation of nepal i think we have already paid our due to him by letting him and his family rule us for 12 generation. and india was not really a whole country befor the british colonized it. it was like nepal divided in various states. i would have wrote somemore about size condoms and indians quoting BBC but i think iwill pass