RSP President Rabi Lamichhane says India Visit focused on Nepal’s prosperity
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who returned home on Friday evening after concluding his five-day official visit to India, said forwarding prosperity was his key agenda during the visit. Talking to media at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) upon his arrival, Lamichhane said discussions with the Indian side focused on bilateral cooperation in various sectors, ranging from sports to information technology (IT). "During the visit, it was made clear what kind of support and engagement the RSP-led government seeks from India. We dwelt on the government's priorities from connectivity to religious tourism as well as the expected benefits of Nepal-India relations," the President explained, adding that making the Nepali Embassy and Nepali mechanism more responsive and efficient also featured while addressing the concerns of Nepali citizens in India. Nepal-India border dispute will be addressed diplomatically, leader Lamichhane said, underscoring, "Diplomatic efforts matter and these are significant in dealing with border issues. Such dealings should be handled in a gradual way and the efforts towards that end have been progressing accordingly." According to him, during the visit, invitations to visit Nepal were extended to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Nabin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom he held separate bilateral talks. He said the responses from both leaders were positive. The RSP President further informed Nepal's Prime Minister's visit to India would be determined based on the time and context. "The Prime Minister and I have shared the responsibilities over the operations of the government and the party. We have created an atmosphere conducive to the government for focusing on its duties and responsibilities," the RSP President made it clear. He had departed for the five-day official visit to the southern neighbour at the invitation of BJP President Nabin. Before his departure from New Delhi, Nepal's Charge D'affaires to India Dr Surendra Thapa, BJP's Foreign Affairs Department chief Dr Bijay Chauthaiwale were at New Delhi-based Indira Gandhi International Airport to see him off, according to the Embassy of Nepal, New Delhi. During the visit, the RSP President held separate bilateral meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chair Nabin. The discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations and matters of mutual interests. Lamichhane's entourage included his spouse Nikita Paudel, RSP joint general secretary and House of Representatives (HoR) member Bipin Kumar Acharya, RSP secretariat member and HoR member Deepak Bohara, and his private secretary Pradip Acharya.
Rajthala achieves 5th Dan
Babita Rajthala, a resident of Lubhu, Lalitpur, has successfully cleared the high-level fifth Dan black belt examination conducted by the Nepal International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). The grading examination, which took place on May 17 at the Tribhuvan Army Club hall in Lalitpur, saw Rajthala pass all mandatory stages of the rigorous test just five months after giving birth via cesarean section. The grading session was conducted by Grandmaster Rajendra Balan. The fifth and sixth Dan grading evaluations had originally been scheduled to take place earlier but were postponed by the Nepal International Taekwondo Federation following the passing of Chang Ung, the former president of the International Taekwondo Federation. Rajthala stated that the delay provided her with extended time to prepare, adding that her long-term training prior to the event assisted her in successfully completing the physical stages of the examination despite her recent surgical recovery. Rajthala has a sports career spanning nearly two decades in Nepali Taekwondo, having competed and placed in multiple national and international tournaments. At the First South Asian Taekwondo Championship held in Nepal in 2014, she secured three medals: a gold in the group category, a silver in sparring, and a bronze in patterns. She went on to win a silver medal in sparring at the Second South Asian Taekwondo Championship. On the domestic circuit, she won gold medals at the 5th National Games and the Federation’s 13th National Tournament, where she represented the departmental departmental team, APF Club.
