Nepalese Maoists claim no involvement with Indian Maoists

Nepal's opposition Maoists insisted, on Wednesday, that they had no involvement with the Indian Maoists and favoured friendly ties between the two countries.

"It is wrong to link us with the Indian Maoist movement, he said. There is no involvement (of Nepalese Maoists) in the Indian Maoists' movement," the party's senior leader, Baburam Bhattarai, told media-persons.

Rejecting reports linking Nepalese Maoists with the Indian Maoists, he said "we don't want to interfere in others' affairs." Describing Naxalism in the neighbouring country as India's "internal matter", Bhattarai said "we also don't want others to interfere in our affairs."

"We want to establish good friendly relations with our both neighbours (India and China)," he said. Asked whether Maoist chief Prachanda, who visited China a couple of months ago, is planning to travel to India as well in near future, Bhattarai said he may pay a visit to the southern neighbour, but it is not yet decided.

Bhattarai's comments came days after Prachanda denied that his party was extending any support to the Naxalites in India or providing arms to them, saying earlier "contacts do not continue at present".

Delinking the Nepalese Maoists from the Indian Maoists, Prachanda said on Saturday that "we had personal contacts with them during the decade-long People's War (in Nepal), which does not continue at present."

There are no arms and training exchanges taking place between the two, he claimed and dismissed media reports that the Nepalese Maoists had supplied weapons to the Indian Maoists.