New Delhi: Nepal may have closed all doors of dialogue with India for the time being following PM KP Sharma Oli’s allegation that
New Delhi is trying to topple him, according to sections of
Nepalese polity and bureaucracy.
The Nepal PM’s allegation against India does not augur well for bilateral relations which have been strained by Oli’s decision to change the political map to include
Indian territories.
Sections of Nepali polity and bureaucracy told ET from
Kathmandu that the PM’s remarks made last Sunday could seriously impair Nepal’s relations with India. They are of opinion that the language that the PM used against India was not the kind of language that a country uses against a friendly neighbour.
“We are heading towards a diplomatic disaster. If India issues a statement asking for concrete evidence that the Indian ambassador is manoeuvering in Nepal’s internal politics to unseat Oli, we will have to prove it or face the consequences,” a member of the ruling
Nepal Communist Party claimed. Several party leaders also feel that Oli’s statements were inflammatory and could exacerbate problems.
“In diplomacy, a country takes note of each word used by the head of government of another country,” a diplomatic source told ET from Kathmandu. “If we cannot hold dialogue with India to enhance cooperation in other areas, such as trade, transit, security and river management, then that will be a disadvantage for both sides,” the source added.
Nepal’s former permanent representative to the UN Dinesh Bhattarai, said the PM had overstepped diplomatic norms by accusing the entire Indian machinery of conspiring to remove him from power.