Kathmandu, May 7
The Nepali Congress has taken objection to the KP Oli government’s decision to recall Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Dip Kumar Upadhyaya, amid the cancellation of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari’s planned visit to India. The main opposition has demanded to know the reasons behind the move.
The government has been accusing Upadhyaya, whom then Sushil Koirala government had appointed ambassador, acting in the interest of the NC vis-a-vis relations with India rather than cooperating with the government.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Prakash Sharan Mahat, speaking at the Parliament meeting on Saturday, said the government should clarify as to what prompted it to recall Upadhyaya.
Mahat accused the Oli government of engaging in what he called politics of revenge by recalling Upadhyaya, a former minister with Congress background. The government has levelled baseless allegations against Upadhyaya, he said. The decision to recall Upadhyaya has weakened diplomacy, he said. Madhesh-cenric parties have boycotted the meeting, which will discuss the budget for the fiscal 2073-74.
As per the Parliament’s timetable, the government will present its policies and programmes on Sunday.
After surviving a premature NC-UCPN-Maoist attempt to topple it, the KP Oli-led ruling coalition is bloating the budget by including populist programmes, though there are chances that Oli may not be able to implement these programmes as it may not be able to survive other attempts to cause its collapse, according to reports.
