Nepal recalls its envoy from India

The Nepal government on Friday decided to recall its ambassador to India Deep Kumar Uphadhya, appointed to the position last year in April from the Nepali Congress quota, informed sources said.

The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Friday, decided to recall Uphadhya after he held a conversation with Oli in the morning as President Bidhya Devi Bhandari's India visit was cancelled by Nepal unilaterally, without even informing him.

Uphadhya reportedly made his displeasure known to Oli.

"It does not look good at a time when Nepal-India ties are back on track and as an ambassador I was not even informed and consulted before the cancellation of the visit," Uphadhya reportedly told the prime minister.

Oli reportedly told Uphadhya that "if you have such kind of reservation about the cancellation of the visit, you can quit".

The Nepali government also accused Ambassador Upadhya of being active in Kathmandu and New Delhi in trying to topple the Oli-led government. Uphadhya is a senior leader of the Nepali Congress which is now in the opposition.

The differences between the prime minister and the ambassador over the cancellation of the president's visit led the Cabinet to recall Uphadhya.

During the Cabinet meeting, Oli instructed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa to recall ambassador Uphadhya immediately.

Uphadhya, it was alleged, is involved and active in toppling the government, propping up the Madhes-based political parties for agitation, and was getting involved in various activities inside Nepal and India.

A top aide to Oli said the prime minister was for long unhappy with Uphadhya and his recall is only a manifestation of Oli's perception of some of Uphadhya's activities as improper for an ambassador.

--IANS

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