Govt decision to call back India envoy hits headlines in Nepal

Kathmandu: The cancellation of Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s visit to India and the government’s decision to call back its ambassador in New Delhi for non- cooperation and anti-government activities today made headlines in major newspapers here.
“Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyaya has been accused not only of non-cooperation by the coalition government but also of breaching his jurisdiction time and again without informing the government,” reported the Kantipur newspaper, a major Nepali language daily. Upadhyaya had “confronted” Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli regarding the cancellation of President Bhandari’s scheduled visit to India, government sources had said.
He has also been accused of visiting western districts of the country accompanying Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae without informing the government. Hours after the government cancelled Bhandari’s proposed visit to India yesterday, “Ambassador Upadhyaya telephoned the prime minister to tell him that unilateral cancellation of the visit may send negative message, which made the prime minister angry and the decision was taken to call him back,” the Kantipur daily claimed.
The government was not satisfied with the performance of Upadhyaya and he was accused of not playing any role to protect national interest during the crisis period or the border blockade, the Nagarik daily said. Oli discussed the matter with Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa on Friday before taking the decision to call back the ambassador, it said.
The government cancelled Bhandari’s India visit in protest against “India’s intervention in the internal affairs of Nepal,” reported the daily. On Wednesday, Bhandari had said the aim of her visit to India was to “to create goodwill and clear misunderstanding”. (PTI)