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KATHMANDU: Stung by the adverse reports in the media about its aborted passport deal with Nepal’s coalition government, India finally broke its silence on Tuesday, saying the agreement had been politicised. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu issued a statement that also said it was regrettable that a confidential letter written by the Indian ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood, to Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, who had batted for Indian state undertaking Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India, had been leaked.

“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,” the statement said. “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 equipment at the Central passport Office in Kathmandu and training of Nepal officials for personalization of the passports.”

The statement pointed out that the arrangements agreed with the government of Nepal would have allowed it to issue the new passports by early-June 2010. The Indian undertaking and the Government of India had already initiated action.