JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi may visit Lumbini during his visit to Nepal early next month.
New Delhi is keen to reassert its interests on the birthplace of Lord Buddha, ostensibly in response to Beijing’s move to pump in billions of dollars to develop the place revered by Buddhists across the world.
Modi is set to visit Nepal for two days, and is understood to be keen to visit Lumbini, along with Janakpur and the Pashupatinath Temple—both important pilgrimage sites for the Hindus.
Sources in New Delhi told Deccan Herald that the prime minister’s visit would send out a clear signal about India’s keenness in working with Nepal for the development of Lumbini.
During her tour to Kathmandu last week in preparation of Modi's forthcoming visit to Nepal, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj conveyed to her Nepalese counterpart New Delhi’s interests in joining the efforts to develop Lumbini.
The Indo-Nepal Joint Commission, which met after a hiatus of 23 years, also discussed the possibilities of extending bilateral cooperation for development and conservation of Lumbini, along with the Pashupatinath Temple and Janakpur.
Swaraj and Nepalese Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey jointly chaired the meeting of the joint commission, which also explored cooperation in developing Bara Chhetra, another pilgrimage site for Hindus.
New Delhi had been upset by for Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the leader of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), struck a deal with the Chinese government, non-profit organisation Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation for a $3-billion project to develop Lumbini as a Special Development Zone.