Menon visits Pashupatinath temple

Kathmandu, Feb 18 (PTI) India's Foreign Secretary
Shivshankar Menon Wednesday visited the renowned Pashupatinath
temple here, weeks after Nepal's holiest shrine hit the
headlines over the ruling Maoists' objection to the
centuries-old tradition of Indian priests performing rituals
there.

Menon worshipped at the temple before his departure to
New Delhi following a two-day visit to the Himalayan state
during which he met Premier Prachanda and Foreign Minister
Upendra Yadav.

However, the Foreign Secretary told reporters that he did
not discuss the issue of the appointment of priests at the
Pashupatinath temple with the Nepalese authorities.

"Officially, I didn't discuss the issue," he said.
His remarks follow the recent row in Nepal over the
Pashupatinath temple, listed by the UNESCO as one of the
cultural heritage sites in the world, after Maoist cadres
stormed the shrine demanding appointment of local priests in
place of Indians.

During his visit, Menon could not meet his counterpart
Gyanchandra Acharya, who was in China.

"But I met him few days ago when I was here briefly while
passing through (Kathmandu)," Menon said. "And I think we will
be meeting again within a couple of weeks when we will fly to
Colombo to attend the SAARC Standing Committee meeting."

"There is no great gap of communication, we talk to each
other regularly," he said.